Liquid Fighter Gold!
by ContraBardus
Summary: Semi-holographic warriors fight in a tournament unlike any other Ranma has been in before.
1. Default Chapter

Ranma 1/2  
  
Liquid Fighter Gold!  
  
Prologue...  
  
+++++++++++  
  
Liquid fighters, the newest sport to take the world by storm.  
Created by German scientist Ludwig Von Krugen in 1965, it involves  
using special units, that when attached to the nervous system of a  
human, give that person the ability to control the Liquid Units. The  
Unit itself is a semi-solid holographic image; they can in any situation   
at any time do tasks that are impossible for a human being to match, thus  
their usefulness in both industry and entertainment.  
  
These super powered units can do no real damage to property and  
cannot harm human beings in any way because of their semi-solid form  
and incredibly complex behavioral programming that prevents them from  
harming any living thing. However their versatility is not discounted  
as various models are created for labor work and public service. The  
result being their popular use in street fights and betting matches.  
  
Unfortunately the superior units, known as liquid fighters, also  
take a tremendous will and total concentration to manipulate beyond  
very basic functions. People like this are rare, and the units  
themselves are expensive, keeping only a select few individuals who can  
own one. These fighters often never reach near the potential of the  
units, but on the very rare occasion that it does happen, the  
controller may attempt to prove his or her worth by competing in the  
ultimate tournament, the 'Liquid Fighter Gold' competition.  
  
With a cash prize of more than ten million US dollars, this event  
is run by a US company and is held in a specialized mega-dome in Tokyo  
each year. Legends are born and fall there as the brutal competitions  
test the abilities of the contestants to the limit.  
  
The year is 1982, now another legend is about to be born...   
  
Ranma Saotome sat waiting for his father to return; he had gone   
into a nearby town and left him sitting here on a rock, alone.  
+++++++++++  
  
"How long is he gonna take?" muttered the boy lazily as he licked  
his fingers clean of the Okonomiyaki sauce. He snorted to himself as  
he laid back, staring at the sky through the treetops that lined the  
side of the path. "I wish Ucchan didn't have to leave so soon."  
  
++++++++++++  
  
Genma Saotome walked lazily from a ramen booth patting his  
stomach. "I would have brought the boy with me, but he has to learn  
the hardships of the road if he wants to be a true martial artist."  
  
The explanation was enough to quiet his conscience as he strolled  
back towards the path out of town with a single apple in his hand for  
his son. He had more money to buy food with if need be, but it was  
unnecessary to tell the boy about it.  
  
He passed by a small pawnshop and stared into the  
window for a moment as something caught his attention. "Is that what I  
think it is?" he wondered out loud.  
  
The proprietor of the store stopped sweeping and smiled to  
himself. "Yeah, it's a liquid unit, combat model too. Unfortunately  
it's useless without the machine to put it inside of the body. I'm  
sorry I bought the damn thing. Who would be fool enough to put it in  
manually? You'd have to slice someone's back open and risk paralyzing  
them. No self-respecting company will install one that they didn't  
sell you either. It's just a worthless hunk of junk." He eyed Genma  
carefully and smiled to himself as the man turned to face him.  
  
"Maybe I can take it off your hands?"  
  
++++++++++++++  
  
Genma whistled to himself as he strolled along the path towards  
his son, in his hands was a bottle of sake, and on his back was a  
leather bag with the unit inside. "Tonight Ranma, you drink well!"  
laughed the man cheerfully as he grinned to himself. Surely, if a  
machine could do it, he would not have any problem installing the  
unit.  
  
++++++++++++  
  
The next morning... Ranma Saotome lay in tears as his body refused  
to move, he had been this way since he had woken up. All he remembered  
was his father gave him some strange tasting drink that burned his   
throat, and practically forced it down his throat.  
  
After about an hour he had passed out, when he woke up, his entire  
body was on fire and his head felt like it was about to explode. He  
looked up lazily and realized he was moving, glancing down at his feet  
he saw that Genma had created a stretcher of sorts and was dragging  
him along behind him.  
  
"Pop?" whimpered the boy pathetically.  
  
"Oh, so you're awake son?" said the man merrily.  
  
"Ow, don't talk Pop, my back..." whispered the boy.  
  
Genma roared with laughter that sent waves of aching pain into the  
boy's head. "Don't worry about it son! It's just a hang over, it'll  
feel better in a few days!"  
  
Ranma's eyes went wide as he, unwisely, shouted out in alarm.  
"DAYS?!"  
  
"That's right son, take it like a man!" said the elder Saotome  
with a dark look in his eyes. Genma cheerfully continued on his way  
dragging the boy behind him.  
  
In truth it would probably be another month before he could start  
to train him again, but now they had a way to fund the training trip.  
With Ranma possessing a real Liquid Fighter, they could easily make  
enough money to travel around with. Once he got the boy trained with  
it, but that couldn't take very long; besides, his son was sure to  
have the mental abilities to control such a unit, he was a Saotome  
after all.  
  
"Pop, who's that following us?" said the boy groggily.  
  
Genma froze and slowly turned around, "I hope it's not that Kuonji  
kid again," he thought, the man had been pressing on him to engage  
Ranma and the girl together. He didn't see any real incentive to do so  
with the Tendo Dojo in his future, so he had taken the man's gift, and  
simply left her behind. He blinked when he saw the girl, and frowned.  
It was not Kuonji.  
  
Standing behind them was a young red haired girl of about ten  
years old. She stared blankly at them and stopped. "Who are you? Are  
you lost?" said Genma gently.  
  
The girl blinked and stared at him. "What is your designation?"  
  
"What?" asked the man in confusion. The girl stared at him in an,  
unnerving, emotionless daze.  
  
"What is your designation?" repeated the strange girl calmly.  
  
Genma stepped back and turned around with a shrug continuing  
onward with the boy in tow.  
  
The girl continued to follow them silently. Genma frowned as she  
suddenly sped up her pace and walked along beside Ranma staying no  
more than a few feet away from him.  
  
The boy looked bewildered, but was not very upset by her presence.  
  
Finally, despite the pain involved, Ranma spoke to her. "Who are  
you? Why are you followin us?"  
  
"Designation, Combat Unit 000371, you are designated operator,"  
replied the girl in a soft emotionless voice.  
  
Genma froze and slowly turned to look at her. "You're the Liquid  
Unit?"  
  
"Yes," replied the girl.  
  
The older man frowned slightly at the sight of the girl. "I  
remember now, you have to develop the unit! Train it!" he mentally  
slapped himself and frowned at her. In time she would grow a  
personality based off of her son's emotional pattern.  
  
Suddenly, an idea formed in the back of his mind. "Oh, I remember  
now! Son, this girl is uhh...Ranko! She'll be your sparing partner!"  
  
The boy blinked and tried his best to pay attention despite the  
pain in his back and head.  
  
"He is suffering from the insertion of the unit more than normal,  
perhaps anesthetic should be administered," said the girl looking up  
at Genma expectantly.  
  
"We don't have any," replied the man with a frown. "My son can  
take the pain, it's training."  
  
"I do not understand," replied the girl simply. She did not push  
the matter any further though, and continued to stroll along beside  
them.  
  
"So, you're Ranko huh?" said the boy weakly offering his new  
friend a smile.  
  
"Is that this unit's designation?" said the girl calmly. It didn't  
really sound much like a question.  
  
"What a weirdo," muttered Ranma as he closed his eyes and tried to  
go back to sleep while he could.  
  
+++++++++++++++  
  
A few months passed in the blink of an eye. Ranma Saotome jumped  
into the air and was struck square in the chest as the girl performed  
a complicated air punch that slammed into his chest. He felt a slight  
pushing against his chest and frowned as he returned the blow with a  
full force strike to the girl's head.  
  
"That is another point for me," said the girl mechanically.  
  
Genma noticed a small smile on her lips, she started doing that  
after about a week of operation. The boy took some convincing in order  
to get him to train with her, he didn't realize that she wasn't real  
at first and still had some doubts. He thought back to the day for a  
moment and frowned to himself.  
  
++++++++++++++  
  
"Pop, how come I gotta fight this girl?" snapped the boy a little  
bitterly.  
  
"Son, you know she isn't a girl, she isn't even real!" the man  
scratched his head and sighed. "Besides, if you lose it's your own  
fault, you're the one making her beat you."  
  
The boy blinked and looked at the girl silently for a moment. He  
knew every move she was going to make and yet somehow it still got  
through to him. The old man smiled to himself as he realized it was a  
wonderful idea to allow Ranma to train with the unit. He still sparred  
with the boy on his own of course, but this way Ranma didn't have to  
pull his punches no matter how good he got. The unit was easily his  
son's better at the moment and probably would always be that way. It  
still gave him a sense of pride that the boy could even keep up with  
the base unit functions. He had heard that it was impossible to do so  
for just a normal human.  
  
"Get back to work boy! Don't be lazy!" snapped the man as he  
realized his son had stopped training in order to inspect his partner  
out of curiosity. Genma had turned around, only to see his son putting  
his hand through the girl's chest and laughing to himself.  
  
"It feel's weird pop!" he cried cheerfully before jumping back and  
taking up a combat stance.  
  
"Are you prepared?" asked the girl.  
  
"Anytime!" retorted the boy as he rushed forward.  
  
++++++++++++  
  
A few days later, Genma Saotome stood directly across from the  
group of construction workers holding Ranma by the shoulder. The small  
red haired girl waited patiently nearby in clothes exactly like the  
boy's with a blank expression on her face. One of the larger men  
stepped forward and smiled at the boy slamming a wad of money on the  
table.  
  
"This kid? You're on old man!" A hulking man appeared behind him  
dressed in a bright orange vest with a gaze that matched Ranma's unit  
easily. He was probably around eight feet tall and appeared to be made  
of nothing but muscle. The two older men realized that he wasn't  
really made from anything at all, but the boy gaped at him in shock.  
  
"Pop! Ranko can't beat him! He's huge!" said the boy as he pulled  
at the bottom of his dogi.  
  
Genma frowned and leaned next to the boy. "Ranma, Ranko can't be  
hurt! She's not real. Now come on boy, she's just as strong as he is,  
he just looks that way because he's a construction unit!"  
  
Ranma got a determined look on his face as he turned back towards  
Ranko, "You can do it!"  
  
She looked at him blankly for a moment. "This unit is superior in  
strength and stamina, our speed is the only way to win."  
  
Ranma blinked and pat her on the back. "Right, how about we just  
hit him?"  
  
"That is acceptable," replied the girl simply. A moment later the  
two units stood facing each other in the center of the construction  
lot. Two round golden bars appeared in the air over the boy and the  
construction worker's head. The older man sat cross-legged deep in  
concentration as his unit put its fists up.  
  
Ranma looked at him blankly and frowned. "What's he doing pop?"  
  
"I don't know boy," replied Genma with a shrug. The man started to  
get a strained look on his face as the battle began, while Ranma,  
merely stood in a relaxed position and watched.  
  
++++++++++++++++++  
  
Ranko jumped aside as the much larger unit's fist slammed into the  
ground creating a dust cloud. She pulled back and kicked him in the  
face knocking a small amount of yellow away on the construction  
worker's bar. It was replaced by a red portion of bar of the same  
color. This continued for several moments while Ranko jumped around  
dodging the construction unit's blows easily as it attempted to box  
her. Her face was calm throughout the battle even after the unit  
picked up a board to use as a weapon. Raising her arm she blocked a  
strike from the unit's weapon and Ranma looked up to see a tiny  
portion of his own bar was gone.  
  
However, since the construction worker had picked up the board the  
operator's face had grown red as he strained for some strange reason.  
The boy jumped up and cheered as his unit punched the larger one in  
the gut knocking off another small portion of it's energy leaving it  
with a small amount.  
  
Suddenly, the construction unit lashed out with a powerful blow  
that sent Ranko flying across the construction yard.  
  
Ranma looked up in shock as almost half of his energy bar vanished  
in an instant. "What? No way!" he growled and stared the man down  
noticing a smirk on his face despite the amount of strain he was  
putting out. Ranma felt a strange rage boil up inside of him and Ranko  
shot back across the lot like a bullet. She sailed over the counter  
strike into a kick that slammed into the hulking construction unit's  
face sending it to the ground on it's back.  
  
In what appeared like a wave of energy the unit vanished from the  
field, and appeared behind the construction worker as he let out a  
breath and almost fell over in exhaustion.  
  
The boy walked over to Ranko and smiled at her. "How come you lost  
so much energy? That's not fair!"  
  
"I must build stamina, speed, strength, and skill. That is the way  
these games are played," she looked over at the other unit and said  
nothing more.  
  
"He doesn't even look hurt!" said Ranma in annoyance.  
  
Ranko replied again. "Units cannot be damaged, clothing and battle  
damage is only used for show; to make matches more interesting. Once  
the battle is over all systems are returned to normal."  
  
"Oh, that's good I guess," said the boy simply.  
  
He walked over to where his father was standing with the men. The  
were arguing with him angrily.  
  
"I'm telling you man, there's no way that kid was controlling that  
unit! He didn't even break a sweat! This is some kind of scam!" cried  
one of the man's fellow workers bitterly.  
  
"Are you implying that my boy..." started Genma as he lifted the  
man by his shirt.  
  
"You're damn right!" snapped the man fearlessly.  
  
"Shut up!" snapped the tired looking man who had faced Ranma.  
"I've seen this before."  
  
Everyone became deathly silent. "This boy isn't cheating, he's  
gifted. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw him in the Liquid Gold a few  
years from now."  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Genma as he dropped the man in his grasp and simply stared dumbly.  
  
"Your son can control the unit without much effort, I've heard of  
protege's like him before. Supposedly there's even a boy in China who  
can control his well enough to spar with it. You've got quite a  
fighter there, and with a combat unit to boot. Old man, you have no  
idea what you've just stumbled onto do you?" the man smiled and faced  
Ranma, who didn't quite understand what the big deal was.  
  
"Good enough to spar with his own unit you say?" Genma looked over  
at Ranma and saw yen signs hanging around the boy's head.  
  
"No freaking way! That's just some stupid tabloid story!" snapped  
one of the other workers as he walked away in disgust.  
  
The man handed Genma his money and turned on the men around him.  
"Get back to work! Break's over!"  
  
++++++++++  
  
  
Liquid Fighter Gold!  
  
Part 1  
  
Yet again, Here's Ranma!  
  
++++++++++++  
  
The open expanse of the ring stood before Ranko as she eyed her  
opponent carefully; Her body had grown over the past few years, she  
now had the look of a girl in her mid-teens, a poor testament too her  
skills.  
  
The other fighter looked weary and beaten on, his energy bar  
showed more than half gone, with a nervous looking and heavily  
sweating trainer seated in the corner as he tried his hardest to  
concentrate.  
  
Her opponent was a muscular fighter-class unit, dressed in a white  
dogi with long brown hair that cascaded around his face. He smirked  
with an almost disgusting looking grin and charged forward reaching  
for her.  
  
With a carefully calculated speed she rushed forward slamming her  
fist into his gut causing a massive loss of energy on the unit's  
energy bar. He bent forward in reaction to the blow and returned her  
strike with a spin kick aimed at her forehead. She ducked easily and  
reversed the move sending her own leg immediately following his own;  
she connected with his forehead sending him down on the mat. Within  
seconds the man vanished in a ripple of space and appeared behind the  
squatty looking bald man in the opposite corner.  
  
Ranma jumped about excitedly as he celebrated her victory in the  
corner. To those watching it seemed as if he were merely a spectator  
at the sidelines. He had been energetic and had hardly sat still  
throughout the entire five-minute match.  
  
"And the winner, controlled by Ranma Saotome! Ranko!" cried the  
announcer as he walked fearlessly into the center of the ring and  
pushed a small button that seemed to zap her out of the ring and next  
to Ranma.  
  
A wave of cheers erupted through the crowd as they went wild in  
the stands.  
  
"Did you see that Pop?" Next to the boy a large panda sipped at  
its drink lazily as it watched, it looked completely ridiculous as it  
sat there wearing a gold ring on it's claw with a small expensive  
looking watch on it's arm. The animal showed its teeth in an attempt  
to smile and nodded at its son lazily, with several gold teeth  
sparkling in its grin. It flapped an arm lazily waving the sleeves of   
its expensive looking Kimono around slightly.  
  
Ranma pat the girl on her back cheerfully. "That was great! We're  
in the tournament for sure this year!"  
  
He was sixteen years old now and had grown quite handsomely. His  
hair was tied in a loose ponytail behind his back and he had a strange  
confident gleam to his eyes.  
  
"Yeah! Just you wait!" replied the girl with a confident look that  
matched the boy's almost exactly.  
  
"Say old man, what are we doing now?" She turned to look at the  
panda expectantly.  
  
It pulled a sign out from behind it and gave another attempted  
grin. "We've got a meeting son."  
  
"You handle it pop, I don't need to be there. I was gonna go spar  
with Ranko some, I don't get much exercise at these things," replied  
the boy as he turned away. He looked around as the crowd settled in  
for the main event fight.  
  
It felt good to be back in Japan again, despite everything that  
had happened to him in China he still felt good being on his native  
soil. He rarely stayed in the arena to watch the matches after his  
own. Glancing up as the professional fighters entered the ring he  
smiled, the units in the ring now would completely destroy Ranko as  
she was now with a single blow. Still determination burned in his  
eyes.  
  
"Someday, that'll be us up there Ran-chan."  
  
"You bet!" replied the girl flexing her arm. The younger Saotome  
was hit in the back of his head by a sign.  
  
"You have to be there this time dolt!" The boy looked at his  
father and blinked.  
  
"What are you talkin about pop? You always handle this stuff, why  
do I need to go?"  
  
"It's not that kind of meeting!" said the panda's sign.  
  
"What kind of meeting is it?" asked Ranko in confusion.  
  
Genma simply stared at them for a moment. "You have to be there,"  
said the sign he put up after trying his best to come up with another  
response.  
  
"So when do we go?" asked the girl with a deadpan look in her  
eyes. Ranma could tell that he was up to something, consequently, she  
was suspicious as well.  
  
"Right after we get paid of course!" replied the animal.  
  
"I don't like this," snorted Ranma with a skeptical look appearing  
in his face for a moment.  
  
"You don't have to like it you just have to come!" retorted the  
panda with yet another sign as it smacked the boy over his head with  
it. It stuffed a fat looking wallet into its kimono and shoved the boy  
forward as they stepped out of the small auditorium.  
  
"Ow! Okay, okay! Jeez!" replied the boy as he allowed himself to  
be pushed out into the rain. Ranma turned towards her father and  
frowned. "Good thinking genius!"  
  
"We'll take a cab!" replied the panda.  
  
"Who's gonna stop for a panda idiot!?" retorted Ranma angrily as  
her father stood by the side of the road waving his arm in the air.  
  
A cab pulled up next to him and the animal opened the door while  
looking at his son. "See?"  
  
Ranko seemed to ripple for a moment as she vanished from Ranma's  
side into thin air. "You stop for pandas?" asked Ranma after tapping  
the man on the shoulder.  
  
"Hey babe, I stop for anyone wearin a Rolex," he stepped on the  
gas and Ranma merely slumped down in her seat.  
  
"Are you going to tell me what's going on now?" asked Ranma  
impatiently.  
  
Genma gave his best panda smile again and held up another sign.  
"Well you see, I made this promise..."  
  
In the center of the street several motorist and pedestrians  
stopped and stared as a scream erupted from the cab. "WHAT!?"  
  
The vehicle started to shake violently back and forth suddenly.  
The cabby inside merely looked back lazily and turned up the already  
obnoxiously loud stereo to drown out the cries of pain. "It's almost  
like having hydraulics," he snorted lazily to himself.  
  
+++++++++++++  
  
Akane Tendo jogged towards her home dressed in shorts and a tank  
top shirt. She had a pleased looking smile on her face as she  
approached the gates to the grounds. She gave a heavy sigh as she  
rushed into the home ignoring her family in favor of the changing  
room. Quickly dressing in her dogi she rushed out into the back yard  
to get in some power training. After a moment of setup she punched  
down sharply shattering the cinder block she had raised into dust. She  
gave a satisfied sigh as she looked at its remains and placed another  
one for demolition in its place.  
  
"Ah, that was nice."  
  
++++++++++++  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Ranma dove from the window of the taxi rolling across the wet  
pavement and finally pushing herself up into a defensive stance. She  
saw her father emerging from the car while handing a small wad of cash  
to the driver.  
  
In his paw was a sign that said, "This will be fine."  
  
"No way am I gonna let you do this to me!" snapped Ranma and Ranko  
in unison as she appeared beside her master.  
  
Genma stepped back and growled getting into his own stance. The  
pair charged each other slamming into each other's bodies' in a flurry  
of punches and kicks.  
  
Ranma was outclassed and skittered to a stop on her feet after  
being thrown back several feet. He growled and turned away dashing  
into the crowd in hopes of a better battleground.  
  
Genma followed easily keeping up with the boy while Ranko lazily  
followed a few feet behind him.  
  
They stopped in a deserted looking street corner and faced off  
again, this time Ranma had the clear advantage as she rushed her  
father.  
  
Genma was clearly more powerful, but Ranma dodged and weaved  
between his blows, the girl jumped back after no opening presented  
itself. Genma took the initiative and rushed forward with a punch  
combination.  
  
"Where do you get off old man?" snapped his son angrily as she  
caught the arm and used the momentum to throw the large animal over  
her shoulder. "Picking my fiancee for me, without even asking!"  
  
Genma watched her sail over his head and retrieve her bag as he  
lay there and snickered to himself.  
  
"I'm going back to China! Suck on that old man!" snapped the girl  
angrily. Genma sat up and pulled a street sign from the side of the  
road and promptly swung it at his son. The animal froze when the pole  
swung right through the girl's pack and into her head. She turned and  
smirked at him as the real Ranma slammed into his head from behind  
with an angry scream sending the animal to the pavement. "I'm gonna  
find a cure for this stupid curse and then win the Liquid Gold  
competition! I don't have time for girls!" she snapped as she turned  
away.  
  
Genma was not quite out yet though and quickly returned the strike  
with his sign, this time striking the correct target.  
  
Ranma was knocked out cold and Ranko seemed to freeze suddenly  
before flashing out of existence. Genma snorted and lifted up the two  
bags before continuing on with his son over his shoulder. "The boy is  
getting smarter, that was unexpected," thought the animal angrily as  
it chided itself for being so easily fooled.  
  
Ranko did not look like Ranma did initially; there was a slight  
resemblance before, but nothing like after Jusenkyo. Ever since the  
boy climbed out of the pool she had looked exactly like him when he  
was cursed. He wasn't sure if it was an effect of the pool either  
since she didn't look like her old self when he was male.  
  
A few moments later Ranma woke up and started to struggle, Ranko  
appeared again next to her and simply walked silently for a ways  
watching the scene quietly.  
  
After a short time they walked up to a house with a large wooden  
gate in front of it. Genma walked through the structure and headed  
towards the house. He stopped outside of the home and put Ranma on her  
feet before dropping his traveling bag on the ground. The boy stood  
silently glaring at the front door of the home angrily while the panda  
went through his belongings.  
  
After a moment of rummaging around in his things, Genma came up  
with a small thermos and chuckled to himself. There was a small green  
light on the side of it and Genma poured some of the contents on his  
son returning him to his male form.  
  
"Ow! Idiot! That's for making hot tea remember?"  
  
Genma was staring at his son with a look of pain on his face as he  
danced around in an attempt to cool off his arms and head. "Why didn't  
you say so sooner boy?" snapped the man angrily.  
  
"Where the hell are we?" snorted Ranma angrily as Ranko walked up  
next to him keeping quiet about the whole affair.  
  
"Put her away boy! We're going to see an old friend of mine and  
you're going to marry his daughter and like it!" snapped the man.  
  
"I don't got no time for no stupid girls!" snapped Ranma in retort  
as Ranko vanished again.  
  
Genma opened the door and something creaked over their heads, both  
men looked up as a leak formed on the porch just over their heads  
spraying the both of them with a small trickle of water. It wasn't  
much, but it was just enough. "Growf," cursed Genma angrily as a young  
girl looked at them expectantly.  
  
"Hello, can I help you?" she asked in a sweet voice.  
  
"Is this the Tendo residence?" said the panda with a sign.  
  
"Oh my," replied Kasumi as her sister and her father rushed up  
behind her with expectant looks on their faces.  
  
++++++++++++  
  
Ranma looked down at the man resting across the floor and sighed  
heavily.  
  
"This is all your fault daddy!" snapped the middle daughter  
angrily.  
  
"Well I assumed my friend Genma's son was a boy!" retorted the man  
from his place on the floor.  
  
"Does this look like a boy to you?" cried the girl as she grabbed  
Ranma's chest.  
  
Ranma was about to stand up and walk out of the home, she had been  
fondled and accosted one to many times by this family and she was  
getting tired of it fast. "Stupid old man, they must be some kind of  
perverts or somethin; that must be why the old fart like them so  
much."  
  
"Nabiki! He...she is a guest!" snapped the youngest girl angrily.  
She turned towards Ranma and smiled, "My name is Akane, you want to be  
friends?"  
  
Ranma found herself nodding and decided that it might not be such  
a bad idea to stick around after all.  
  
++++++++++  
  
"This is the dojo," said Akane as they entered the training hall.  
"So you study kenpo?"  
  
Ranma stopped looking around and nodded sheepishly. "A little."  
  
"So let's have a little match then!" cried Akane excitedly. Ranma  
could see she was pleased by this revelation. "Don't worry I won't  
hurt you."  
  
"O...ok," replied the girl shyly. She still was unsure about her  
situation.  
  
What followed was easily a joke on Ranma's part. Akane started her  
attack expecting someone who was good, but still below her own level.  
Ranma smiled inwardly as she realized this and dodged with a little  
more flash and seeming effortlessness each time she punched.  
  
Finally Akane reached the end of her frustrations and charged  
forward angrily. "This time for real!" she slammed her fist into the  
wall creating a hole there easily.  
  
Ranma landed behind her and touched the base of her neck lightly  
signaling that she had won the match. The girl was foolish, finesse  
always beat out brute strength, but she still seemed nice enough so  
far.  
  
"Wow, you're pretty good!" exclaimed Akane as she smiled with a  
hint of embarrassment in her face.  
  
"Yeah," replied the redhead shyly.  
  
"I'm just glad you're not a boy," said the Akane as she turned  
away.  
  
Ranma sucked in a quick breath and stared at her in shock. "Huh?"  
  
"It's just that, I'd really hate to lose to a boy."  
  
Ranma clenched her jaw slightly as a sudden fear took hold of her.  
"What the heck did she mean by that?"  
  
Kasumi entered the room and stopped the conversation abruptly, as  
she showed Ranma to the room she'd be staying in.  
  
The pigtailed girl placed her bag on the ground and looked at the  
barren room silently.  
  
"Would you like to take a bath now Ranma?" asked the girl sweetly.  
  
"Um, no thanks," she said quickly.  
  
"You've been exercising haven't you?" chided the girl calmly.  
  
"Uhh, yeah," replied Ranma as she realized she was trapped.  
  
++++++++++++  
  
Once inside the furo Ranma dumped water over her head to rinse  
away the soap while Ranko finished scrubbing her back lazily.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem," replied the girl as she stood up and lowered herself  
into the hot water with her.  
  
Ranma looked at her and sighed. "What am I gonna do now?" he sat  
back against the tiles and stared at the ceiling.  
  
"You're asking me? You're the one in charge remember?" he frowned  
slightly at her comment and looked at her.  
  
"Come on at least try," he said impatiently.  
  
"Ranma, you can't ask me what I think; mostly because you already  
know what I think remember?" the girl winked at him and looked down  
into the water. "Hey, I can take care of that if you want...it's in my  
programming you know," she said calmly.  
  
"No! How many times to I have to tell you I don't need your help  
with that?!" snapped the boy in embarrassment.  
  
"I'm also programmed to offer if it happens while we are alone,"  
replied the girl with a shrug. "Thinking about that girl out there?"  
  
"You shut up! What kind of pervert programmed you?" snapped the  
boy bitterly.  
  
"It's standard on all female models, especially the more expensive  
ones like a fighter-unit," she turned away and looked at the doorway  
for a moment. "I was designed to cater to rich males, like you've  
become by the way."  
  
"Thanks to you, I miss not having money sometimes," replied Ranma  
wistfully. He put his head further into the water and moved around a  
bit. "What to do though? Should I go out like I am?"  
  
"Don't ask me," replied Ranko lazily.  
  
"I might as well go out like I am," said Ranma as he stood up.  
  
Suddenly, the door opened and there she was standing there staring  
at him. He froze in shock and stared at her for a moment with Ranko  
getting the exact same expression on her face.  
  
"Sorry to intrude," gasped Akane with a deep blush appearing on  
her face. She stepped back out of the room and put on her dogi. "Who  
was that?" her mind screamed. She thought back and noticed Ranma was  
in there with him, "It's none of my business, but honestly in someone  
else's house no less!" the blush returned a new and Nabiki looked up  
in surprise.  
  
"I thought you where going to take a bath," asked the older girl  
as she noticed the blush on her sister's face.  
  
"Ranma's in there with some guy," replied the girl simply without  
stopping as she walked to the other side of the table and poured  
herself a cup of tea.  
  
"What does that matter you're both gir...what?" Nabiki realized  
exactly what her sister had said and froze.  
  
Kasumi blushed and put her hand up to her face and blushed deeply.  
"Oh, my." They all turned to see a boy dressed in Chinese clothes  
looking at the floor in embarrassment as he walked into the room.  
  
"Uhh," Akane quickly turned away trying desperately to remove the  
mental image from her mind.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Nabiki.  
  
"I'm Ranma Saotome...sorry about this."  
  
+++++++++++  
  
Liquid Unit Profile: Construction Unit Omnicom Designation:  
Un15377 Class: C-2 general use model, variant 27 Description and  
General info: Used in the construction industry these units are used  
by foremen and workers to perform light menial tasks. While large and  
slow they are usually used to operate machinery, perform light tasks,  
and mix/heat construction materials for use by the human workers.  
  
As with all Units their semi solid form prevents them from doing  
any heavy lifting. They can however use hand tools and go places a  
normal human being cannot. One unique ability that the worker-class  
Units have is the ability to change their relative size to suit the  
situation. A six-foot tall worker can easily become a four-foot tall  
worker to more easily move in a cramped environment. Because of the  
expense of the Unit most workers who wear them are foremen or  
extremely trusted employees.  
  
This has caused numerous problems for some companies in the past,  
as on occasion the employee would quit soon after the unit was  
implanted. This problem was solved when construction companies started  
using long-term contracts with all employees using the liquid units.  
  
++++++++++++++  
  
Liquid Fighter Gold  
  
Part 2  
  
Ranma's secret.  
  
+++++++++++++  
  
The girls sat around at the table staring at the newcomer, Ranko  
sat beside him looking just as embarrassed as he was.  
  
Genma smiled as he realized everyone was present and started his  
speech.  
  
Nabiki was staring at the boy with the suspicion that she knew him  
from somewhere and could not quite place her finger on it.  
  
"I am Genma Saotome, and this is my son..." he stopped to allow  
the boy to introduce himself.  
  
"Ranma," finished the boy.  
  
"If you're Ranma, then who is this girl?" said Nabiki as she  
indicated the red head.  
  
"Huh? Oh that's just Ranko," replied the boy.  
  
"I could have sworn she called herself Ranma Saotome, what a  
relief," said Soun with a laugh. "You never told me you had a daughter  
Saotome."  
  
"I don't," replied the man simply.  
  
The Tendos looked at the pair in confusion, but remained silent.  
Soun finally spoke up, "So tell me Saotome, have you been well?"  
  
Genma looked at the man and laughed. "I'm fine Tendo, the girl is  
Ranko, my son's liquid fighter unit."  
  
A sudden understanding seemed to come over the girls as they  
looked at the girl. Nabiki definitely had an interest in the pair now,  
she could make a lot of money off of this if she played it right.  
  
"I knew it, he's a pervert!" snorted Akane in disgust.  
  
Ranma turned towards her with a look that told her he didn't quite  
understand what she was talking about.  
  
"Just what do you think you where doing in our bathroom with that  
thing huh? I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't do that here!" snarled  
the girl as she turned away from him.  
  
"What the hell are you talkin..." the boy was cut off as Genma  
smacked him on the back of the head.  
  
"Watch your mouth boy! We're guests here!" chided the elder  
Saotome.  
  
"Ouch! You stupid old man! She was callin me a pervert for no good  
reason!" screamed the boy in retort as he threw his father into the  
air and smiled as he landed in the small Koi pond in the back yard.  
  
"No good reason?!" snapped Akane angrily, she stopped cold when a  
large panda emerged from the water and growled at the boy angrily.  
  
Ranma charged forward, attacking the animal full force. "We have  
to tell them boy!" said the animal with a large sign.  
  
"They don't gotta know nothin!" retorted Ranma as he kicked the  
beast back.  
  
Genma snorted and gave the boy a low sweep that was narrowly  
dodged. Ranma flipped back and landed on his feet a few yards away.  
  
Soun stood up and looked at the scene in shock. "Saotome?"  
  
Genma stopped and turned around sheepishly as he held a sign up.  
"Hello Tendo."  
  
"What don't we need to know about?" asked Nabiki warily.  
  
"Nothin," replied Ranma simply as he sat down at the table while  
Genma produced the electric thermos again pouring its contents over  
his head.  
  
"If that's the way you want it boy, I'll have no part in it,"  
snorted the man as he changed back.  
  
"Stupid old man," grumbled Ranma as he sat down and crossed his  
arms showing disinterest in the whole affair.  
  
Nabiki had a revelation and stared at the boy in shock. "I know  
him!"  
  
Akane looked at her and frowned before dismissing the matter.  
  
Soun looked at Genma as the man started his story. "It all started  
in China a fateful two months ago..." Genma finished his tale giving  
all the particulars of Jusenkyo and how he became a panda. Cutting off  
just short of his son falling into the spring of drowned girl after  
the boy gave him a warning glare that no one else seemed to notice.  
  
"Ah, that explains it," said the Tendo patriarch as he moved  
beside Ranma and grabbed him by the shoulder. "These are my daughters,  
Kasumi nineteen, Nabiki eighteen, and my youngest daughter Akane,  
she's sixteen! Pick anyone you like and she'll be your new fiancee."  
  
Ranma turned to stare at him in disbelief and was about to protest  
when Kasumi spoke up. "Oh, he want's Akane."  
  
"What? Why would I?" started the girl in protest.  
  
"No! I'll take him!" cried Nabiki as she felt her opportunity  
falling through her fingers.  
  
Everyone in the room stared at her in shock. "Are you sure  
Nabiki?" asked her elder sister.  
  
"Positive," replied the girl as she eyed the expensive clothing  
Ranma's father was wearing.  
  
"Hey! I ain't got time for no girls!" snapped the boy angrily as  
he started for the door. "The Liquid Gold Tournament is only a year  
away and I got some training to do, I'm going back to China!" He  
started for the door and was stopped by his father's arm.  
  
"Have you forgotten what's waiting for you in China boy? Are you  
out of your mind?" he snapped bitterly.  
  
"If I can last this long I think I can go another year without any  
problem, she was an idiot anyway," retorted the boy as he pushed past  
him.  
  
Akane almost seemed relieved as the boy walked towards the door.  
"I don't need to be around no stupid peeping tomboys anyway,"  
commented the boy as he walked just within her reach. Almost as a  
reflex she found herself crushing him under the weight of the table.  
  
"Now that he had coming," replied Genma sagely. No one even  
noticed Ranko blink out of existence as her master was knocked out  
cold.  
  
+++++++++++++  
  
Ranma woke up with Kasumi and Nabiki kneeling over him, "Don't  
mind Akane, she's really a very sweet girl; it's just that she's a  
violent maniac," said the elder girl to the boy.  
  
"I noticed," replied the boy as he sat up, Ranko appeared beside  
the two girls with a neutral expression on her face.  
  
"Oh good Kasumi, that makes a lot of sense," said Nabiki as she  
put a towel across his head; she turned her attention towards Ranma  
and smiled. "How are you feeling fiancee?"  
  
"Don't call me that!" he replied curtly before laying back down.  
"I feel like someone hit me over the head with a table."  
  
"You'll get over it," said the girl with a knowing smile. Behind  
her back was a sports magazine, a local rag that had Ranma on the  
cover, his picture was inside a small box on the corner of the page.  
If the article on him was even remotely close to the truth he'd be on  
the covers of magazines across the world someday. "So tell me Saotome,  
how advanced is this thing anyway?" asked Nabiki as she looked the red  
head up and down. Ranma sat up and looked at her quizzically, it was  
not an unusual question; but hardly one he was expecting given his  
current situation.  
  
"She's a lower mid-level power unit right now, but her skills are  
far above any other know unit of her experience and age."  
  
Nabiki nodded and pushed him back down on the floor. "Lay down,  
you need your rest."  
Ranma didn't like what was going on around him much, Ranko had a  
distressed expression on her face as she watched the situation as  
well.  
  
"I don't like this Ranma," she whispered. He looked at her and  
decided that maybe he could use another nap.  
  
Akane sat fuming in the living room as the two men laughed and  
recalled old memories nearby. A sudden thought hit her. "That jerk was  
testing me! He sent that stupid robot to fight me!" It explained why  
she had been reluctant to hit her and also why she had been so hard  
pressed to connect any of her attacks. The unit wasn't even human, she  
never stood a chance against it. Still a surge of pride welled up  
inside of her as she realized she had done well against such an  
opponent. "I showed that jerk, he'll know better than to mess with  
me!" she exclaimed proudly.  
  
Soun and Genma turned to look at her with horrified stares, they  
thought she was talking about the earlier incident involving the  
table.  
  
"Tendo, is she all right?" whispered Genma.  
  
"To be honest, I'm not sure Saotome," replied his friend as the  
turned away from the girl as she laughed maniacally while flexing her  
arm in pride.  
  
+++++++++++++  
  
The next day Genma called his son down to the living room after  
their morning practice, it was held a good distance away from the koi  
pond almost in the front yard.  
  
Ranma sat in front of his father with a confused look on his face.  
"School?"  
  
"Yes, we are going to be staying a while," replied the man as  
pleasantly as he could.  
  
"You'll be going to the same school as Akane and me, I think  
you'll like it there," said Nabiki as she poked her head around the  
corner and smiled at him. There was something he didn't like about it,  
but he kept quiet. "Hurry up and get ready so we can walk to school  
together."  
  
She almost giggled at him and it ran chills down his spine as she  
tried her best to look cute. Not that she failed or anything, it just  
looked a little faked to him.  
  
"Nabiki, are we going or not?" snapped Akane as she ran down the  
stairs and past her sister.  
  
"No, you go on ahead, I'm going to take him with me," replied the  
girl indicating Ranma. Akane scowled at him and turned away on her  
heels in disgust.  
  
"Now what did you do?" wondered Ranko from beside her counterpart.  
  
"I haven't seen her since last night, you tell me," replied the  
boy a little sharply.  
  
"I guess we should go get ready then," replied the red haired girl  
as she stood and a school uniform appeared on her body. "All done."  
  
"You know that I hate you," muttered Ranma as pulled his favorite  
shirt off the floor where he had discarded it before the morning  
practice. Nabiki blinked at this, and turned away.  
  
"That's strange," she muttered to herself as she waited patiently.  
  
  
++++++++++++  
  
A few moments later the three of them where strolling towards the  
school, Ranma walked along the top of the fence with Ranko walking  
cheerfully behind him. Nabiki walked just below them and looked up in  
surprise, she noted that Ranko was wearing boxers under her skirt for  
some strange reason.  
  
The trip was relatively silent, occasionally Nabiki would ask a  
question and receive either a nod or a shake from the boy's head. He  
seemed strangely reserved and closed to her.  
  
When they almost reached the school he stopped and stared in  
disbelief. "What's going on?"  
  
There appeared to be some sort of battle going on at the school.  
"Oh that, don't worry about it, this happens every morning," it was  
too late though as Ranma dashed forward for a better view.  
  
Nabiki sighed as she rushed forward and tried to keep up with his  
pace. The pair came to a stop as Akane was finishing up the last of  
her morning attackers.  
  
He jumped down beside her and surveyed the damage. "Boy, you sure  
are popular."  
  
"What's it to you?" snapped the girl as she turned towards a large  
tree in the courtyard.  
  
"Oh what fools these mortals be, each seeks the honor of your  
company in the unlikely event that he defeats you," said a new voice  
as Akane caught a rose that seemed to appear out of nowhere.  
  
Ranko leaned forward and inspected it curiously. "Hey, what's  
this?" she asked.  
  
"It's a rose!" snapped the girl in disgust.  
  
"I know that, but why?" replied Ranko in annoyance.  
  
A seventeen year old boy dressed in a kendo uniform stepped from  
behind the tree and smirked, it died down as he noticed the two new  
faces beside Akane. Nabiki Tendo stood nearby watching cautiously.  
  
"Get back or you'll get hurt," warned Akane with a scowl appearing  
on her face as she got into a defensive stance.  
  
"I'm not worried," replied Ranma with a shrug.  
  
The boy turned his attention towards Ranma. "Tell me, who are you  
bore?"  
  
Ranma blinked and pointed at himself. "Huh? I'm..." he was cut off  
as the kendoist continued his speech.  
  
"Ah, but is the custom to give one's own name first! Fine then!  
Mine I shall give!" cried the boy in what seemed like over dramatic  
anger.  
  
"If you want," replied Ranma still uncertain about what to do.  
  
"I am the rising new star of the high school fencing world, the  
sound of my voice sends fear into the hearts of my peers. They call me  
The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High! Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen." The  
statement was punctuated by a crash of lightening from above as Ranma  
tried to understand exactly what was happening to him.  
  
"Ok, Um, I'm staying at the Tendo Dojo..." he started, but the boy  
would hear no more.  
  
"Under the same roof as Akane? I will not allow it!" he screamed  
as he charged forward raising his bokuten. His heart stopped as the  
strange red haired girl rushed in front of his target as he slashed  
downward. He sucked in a quick breath and tried to stop the strike as  
it cut into her body without any resistance. He froze with a look of  
complete terror on his face as the blade remained inside her chest,  
taunting him.  
  
Ranko smiled and laughed at him. "Fool." Kuno looked up just in  
time to see a fist come through her head from behind, that slam into  
his face, sending him sprawling across the ground in shock.  
  
"A liquid fighter?"  
  
Ranma stood over him dusting his hands off with a snort of  
disgust, Nabiki Tendo walked up to the boy and kicked Kuno in his  
ribs.  
  
"You leave my fiancee alone!" she said angrily.  
  
"Fiancee?" whispered Kuno as the words sunk in. "You mean, he does  
not hound Akane?" The remaining students of Furinkan gasped in shock  
as the girl's words struck home.  
  
Nabiki looked around and cursed herself, she could have charged  
money for that information. She still had a lot of ways to do that yet  
today, the most important of which involved the boy lying on the  
ground in front of her. "Kuno baby, you are such an idiot," she  
grabbed the kendoist by his arm and pulled him into the building.  
  
+++++++++++  
  
Tatewaki sat up and frowned deeply at the thought of this new  
development, he shook off Nabiki's grip and stood up. "No doubt he  
seeks to take Akane's heart through her sister. I must put a stop to  
this evil plot, such a cowardly defense cannot be forgiven either.  
Using a woman's body to shield himself cannot be forgiven, it matters  
not if she is real." As he stood up and turned towards the school  
building a light shower began to fall from the sky. "Vile knave, we  
shall see who is worthy of Akane Tendo's heart!"  
  
"That we shall master," said a feminine voice from behind him. It  
was emotionless, yet somehow produced a sort of pride.  
  
"Sakura, I shall need you soon. We shall show this upstart who is  
worthy of my love's heart," said the boy as he turned towards the  
woman behind him.  
  
She looked to be in her twenties, her long brown hair done up into  
a pony tail at the top of her head blew in the breeze and yet remained  
dry despite the falling rain. She was dressed in a delicate silk  
kimono with a katana hanging at her side. Two deep green eyes stared  
forward with an almost militaristic stare as she awaited her master's  
commands. "It shall be as you say."  
  
Kuno ignored her words and started towards the building with her  
following closely behind him.  
  
Nabiki merely smiled at the scene, and walked into the school.  
  
+++++++++++++  
  
Nabiki smiled in her seat as she looked towards the boy standing  
over her desk. "Set up a match Kuno baby? Why I thought you'd never  
ask!"  
  
Everything was going according to plan, she had suspected that  
Ranma and Kuno would not get along. The Saotome boy's gruff nature and  
Kuno's idiotic formality were sure to clash, she wasn't expecting this  
quite so soon though. "Oh well, more money for me!"  
  
++++++++++++++  
  
That night Ranma sat at the table reading the note Kuno had given  
Nabiki that morning. "He's challenging me?"  
  
Akane smiled, it would be good to see him get a lesson, and  
something about him just made her angry. The perverted things she knew  
he was doing at night with that thing probably had something to do  
with it. She seemed to be with him almost everywhere he went. He  
certainly kept her out more than anyone else she knew of with a liquid  
unit. It was a short list though so she didn't have much to go on as  
far as that was concerned.  
  
"Yup, Kuno baby had a liquid unit too, he want's to set up a  
match," replied Nabiki calmly. This was the perfect opportunity to  
check up on her investment. Her expectations were high, the boy had  
easily paid her delivery charge for the letter.  
  
"I can take that idiot anytime!" cried Ranko confidently.  
  
"That's good to hear, but you haven't even met Sakura yet,"  
snorted the girl with a deadpan gaze.  
  
Ranko sat down and smiled. "She's got to be at least as stupid as  
he is."  
  
"She's the regional champion in middle class units," replied the  
girl curtly.  
  
"Middle class?" said Ranma in shock. "That means..."  
  
"Right you are Ranma, she's stronger than Ranko," replied Nabiki  
with a smile.  
  
"I've always wanted to see how I'd do against a higher class  
unit," replied the red head with a shrug.  
  
It was the truth, but her air of sure win confidence was now gone.  
It was replaced by a hard, and determined gaze as she stared at the  
letter; no one else but Nabiki noticed that it mirrored Ranma's face  
exactly.  
  
Nabiki smiled, if her suspicions where true she could make a  
killing tomorrow, regardless of who won.  
  
++++++++++++  
  
Meanwhile, Inside Tatewaki Kuno's bedroom, Sakura stood before a  
chalkboard writing the days lessons from school there flawlessly; it  
was even in the teacher's handwriting.  
  
Kuno found he rarely had to pay much attention in school since he  
could retrieve the lessons from her memory at his leisure. Still,  
cheating was beneath him and he still aspired to learn the lessons as  
best he could. It was invaluable that he keep his grades up as a roll  
model and captain of the kendo club.  
  
It also didn't hurt that Sakura was not wearing any clothing at  
the moment.  
  
He relaxed and lowered his eyes to the book in his hands before  
placing it aside and flicking off the light.  
  
The liquid unit's voice floated down to him. "Do you wish to  
retire? Should I continue the lesson?"  
  
"You may stop," replied the boy as he lay on his mat and sighed.  
  
"Shall you dream of the Tendo girl tonight master?" she asked as  
she kneeled next to him once again clothed in the kimono.  
  
"As always my dear Sakura, shall you assist me again?" the whole  
event had a strange formality to it and that was just the way he liked  
it.  
  
The liquid unit seemed to change shape in an instant revealing a  
perfect image of Akane Tendo sitting beside him on the bed. "Oh, my  
darling Kuno, thank you for saving me from my savage ways and showing  
me the path of true honor."  
  
"It was as it should be my beloved," he replied looking away  
dramatically.  
  
"How should I ever repay you?" asked the girl as she removed the  
cloth from her shoulders exposing her chest to him.  
  
Kuno did not look at her. He merely stood meekly and honorably  
looking away. "I cannot accept such a payment."  
  
"My darling Kuno, we shall be wed on the morrow! Will you accept  
me this night, even if it is premature?" she gasped passionately as  
she pulled at his back gently and caressed his shoulders.  
  
"It shall be as you say!" said Kuno as he turned slowly to meet  
her lips. He broke the kiss and gazed into her eyes. "Tomorrow, I  
shall make this a reality as I destroy that dishonorable cur and his  
deceitful advance on Akane Tendo."  
  
"Yes master, it shall be as you say!" replied Sakura with Akane's  
face and voice as she kissed him again.  
  
They fell against the mat in passion as the night drew on.  
  
++++++++++++  
  
Ranma sat in the furo relaxing in the water as he thought about  
the coming day. "Do you think we can handle it tomorrow? A medium  
class unit is a big power difference."  
  
Ranko looked at him from her place beside him and smiled. "That's  
all up to you and you know it," was her answer.  
  
"I wish you'd stop dumping all this stuff on me," he replied in  
annoyance.  
  
"Sorry Ranchan, that's the way things are," she said as she handed  
him a towel as they emerged from the water.  
  
Ranma sighed and walked towards the changing room.  
  
He stopped cold as he saw Nabiki standing there in the nude  
smiling at him. "Oh, finished already? I was just about to join you."  
  
"Wha?" gasped the boy in shock as he backed away with a look of  
complete shock and terror on his face.  
  
"What are you so jumpy about? We are engaged Saotome," snorted the  
girl as she walked by him and sat down on the stool. "Besides I would  
think you had some experience before now." She eyed Ranko carefully  
and smiled as the unit gave her an uncomprehending look.  
  
Ranma quickly removed himself from the room with a completely red  
face as he dressed himself and got out as fast as he could. "Man, I  
don't know how long I can take this place."  
Akane stared at the scene in shock as Ranma walked out of the  
bathroom with an odd look on his face.  
  
Nabiki had gone in there not moments before and she reasoned that  
her sister had thrown the boy out. "You'd better not even think about  
it, cause if I find out I'll kill you myself."  
Ranma looked at her and turned away wordlessly. Akane merely  
smiled to herself thinking he understood what the score was. "What the  
hell are these people talking about?" he asked Ranko as they reached  
the top of the stairs.  
  
"You got me," replied the girl with a shrug. "Maybe it's just that  
they're all crazy?"  
  
+++++++++++++  
  
Liquid Fighter Gold  
  
Part three  
  
Ranko vs. Sakura.  
  
+++++++++++++  
  
Ranma Saotome sat in a field waiting patiently for his opponent to  
arrive as the sun set. He sighed heavily and turned to face the rather  
large crowd that had gathered. Many of them appeared to be students of  
Furinkan; many others were older people who held small slips of paper  
in their hands. He sighed at the familiarity of the situation and  
turned back to await Kuno patiently.  
  
Ranko moved about the crowd freely, she took in her surroundings  
as best she could while avoiding the mob that had somehow gathered to  
observe the fight. The question of how the people had managed to find  
out about the fight had been answered when they first arrived an hour  
ago and helped Nabiki set up her table.  
  
She had started taking bets immediately for those who had arrived  
early. Her smile fell slightly as Ranma's fiancee kept giving her odd  
looks as she moved among the people and she tried her best to ignore  
them.  
  
"Hey babe, you here for the fight?" said an unfamiliar boy who  
walked up to her casually. He was dressed in a school uniform, but she  
didn't recognize him.  
  
He was probably from another school. There were quite a few teens  
there that she didn't know from her memory files.  
  
A small smile formed on her face as she turned towards him. "I  
sure am, come to see the show handsome?" she purred.  
  
"Sure, wanna sit with me and my buddies? We've got ringside  
seats," said the boy, as his smile grew three times larger.  
  
"No thanks, I think I'm gonna be a little closer to the action  
than you pal," she retorted with a girlish giggle as she started to  
walk away.  
  
"Come on, please? I want to talk with you a little," pleaded the  
boy jokingly.  
  
"Sorry honey, I'm with someone," she replied with an apologetic  
shrug.  
  
"What's he got that I don't have?" snorted the boy confidently as  
he struck a ridiculous pose that was meant to show how cool he was.  
  
She smiled warmly and turned on her heels. "Me." With that said  
she dashed off into the crowd again losing him in an instant.  
  
"Hey..." the boy trailed off as he realized that she was a lost  
cause. "Lucky guy I guess."  
  
Nabiki frowned at her fiancee as he leaned against the table  
watching the exchange with mild amusement. "You are a sick man you  
know that?"  
  
Ranma looked at her and blinked. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I saw what you did to that poor defenseless young man. You are a  
cad Ranma Saotome. I kind of like that though." She gave him a playful  
wink and turned back to the slowly dwindling line at the table.  
  
"What I did?" muttered Ranma in confusion as he turned away from  
her and looked towards the red head as she moved over to the food  
vendors near the back of the crowd. He turned his attention back  
towards the small field and waited patiently for his opponent to  
arrive.  
  
++++++++++  
  
After about a half-hour, a figure slowly walked towards the crowd  
with the sun at his back slowly fading into existence as he neared the  
battleground. He remained silent with his bokuten resting at his hip,  
as his Kendo gear slowly became visible as his features became clear.  
  
"I'll say one thing for him, he knows how to make an entrance,"  
commented Nabiki dryly.  
  
Kuno stopped and frowned as he noticed the spectators around him.  
"What is this?"  
  
"Nothing Kuno baby, just a few witnesses," said Nabiki as she  
waved her hand.  
  
The boy ignored her and turned towards Ranma with a cool glare.  
"You have turned our battle of honor into a show for the masses? This  
is unforgivable Saotome."  
  
The boy blinked and took up a defensive posture. "Hey! This wasn't  
my idea! Blame her!" He pointed at Nabiki who looked at the two of  
them and frowned.  
  
"Such cowardice, blaming your own faults on the woman you would  
call wife," snorted the boy as he sat on the grass crossing his legs  
and leaned against the tree that shades Nabiki's betting table. "For  
this offence I shall destroy you quickly."  
  
Ranma snorted and looked back towards the crowd. "Whatever, let's  
just get this over with."  
  
++++++++++++++  
  
Ranko stood with a bag of cotton candy in her hands, she ate  
cheerfully while chatting with a good sized group of boys who had  
surrounded her and started to bombard her with questions. She stopped  
suddenly as her cheerful attitude fell away. "Well, looks like I'm on  
boys, see you later." In an instant she vanished from in front of them  
leaving the air puffed sugar behind leaving them all staring in shock  
at the space she had once occupied.  
  
"What the hell? She was a liquid unit?" cried one of the boys in  
disgusted shock. He and his friends turned and glared daggers at  
Ranma, as he stood oblivious too them with his attention on Kuno as  
Ranko appeared next to him.  
  
"That sick bastard!" snorted another one of the boys angrily.  
  
++++++++++++  
  
Sakura appeared in a shower of pink flower petals beside her master as  
Ranko materialized beside her own. The two girls stood off for a  
moment sizing each other up emotionlessly.  
  
"Shall we begin?" said Kuno calmly as he sat in the lotus position  
and closed his eyes. Ranma looked at him and merely nodded his head.  
  
The battle started without formalities, Sakura pulled out her  
Katana and sliced at Ranko, who avoided the strike and jumped into the  
center of the field. Kuno's unit wasted no time in catching up and  
rushed the girl. "You cannot defeat me, I am superior to you."  
  
"We'll see about that!" retorted the red head angrily as she  
rushed and punched at the girl catching her in the chest and sending  
her skidding back a few feet. Kuno smiled as a tiny amount of energy  
vanished from his bar.  
  
Ranma leaned forward and blinked at the strain the boy seemed to  
be having at the moment. "Hey Kuno, you got a headache or somethin?"  
he asked in genuine concern.  
  
The kendoist opened his eyes and looked up at him for a moment. He  
almost fell over in shock, as Ranma did not appear to be paying any  
attention to the fight at all.  
  
"What trickery is this?" He quickly turned his attention back as  
Ranko managed to land another blow knocking off another tiny bit of  
his energy.  
  
"Your master has skill, it seems I must fight to win this match,"  
said the sword wielding unit as she slashed at the air again.  
  
Ranko moved skillfully out of the way and countered the blow with  
a kick that was blocked. The pigtailed girl rolled away from the  
strike that followed and barely managed to escape. She jumped back a  
ways and stood in a ready position. "That was too close."  
  
"You cannot hope to match me!" screamed her opponent as she  
charged forward with her blade becoming a blur.  
  
Ranko backed away as the woman charged and gasped as several nicks  
and tears appeared in her clothing. She growled between her teeth and  
kicked off the ground putting some distance between herself and her  
opponent. "Damn!" Her Chinese shirt was in tatters and she only  
received a light blow as she escaped from the barrage of strikes.  
Still, the amount of energy taken away from her was about the same as  
all of the strikes she had managed to land on her opponent.  
  
Sakura simply stood calmly and lowered her blade into a low  
stance. "You cannot hope to win," she said mechanically.  
  
"I can always try," replied the red head simply as she rushed into  
the attack again. This time she managed to peg the girl in the face  
knocking away even more of her energy.  
  
Sakura staggered for a moment as her retaliation strike missed by  
a hair's width. The brown haired unit simply stepped forward and took  
the offensive again as she charged forward slashing at an amazing  
speed with her blade. This time Ranko was not so fortunate, her shirt  
split open revealing her breast as the wind blew across the field. She  
didn't seem to notice, but a long red mark appeared in her chest as  
even more energy was lost.  
  
Once again Sakura had taken as much damage from all of her strikes  
making their readings almost equal again.  
  
Ranma stood watching the fight impassively, occasionally he would  
utter a cheer of encouragement towards his unit or jump around  
excitedly. At the moment he was dead serious, but still somewhat  
distracted.  
  
Nabiki glanced over at him in confusion and shook her head before  
turning her attention towards the battle again. Either way she would  
make a killing, but it would be much more profitable if Ranma won.  
  
Everyone hung on the edge of their seats as the pair continued to  
trade blows in the field, neither one hit very often, Ranko gained  
more blows, but Sakura had the clear advantage.  
  
All this went unnoticed by a group of high school boys who  
approached Ranma from behind with evil looking grins on their faces.  
They spotted the pigtail and smirked as they approached him. He  
shifted about excitedly as the battle raged and moved away from Nabiki  
towards the center of the spectators.  
  
The lead boy smiled as he pulled the lid off of a cup and walked  
within two feet of the pigtailed boy. He threw the contents onto his  
back sending Ranma into the air. "Hey! That's cold!" she cried as she  
spun around to see a familiar group of boys standing behind her.  
  
Her eyes narrowed suddenly as they stepped back in shock. "Hey,  
that's the girl we were talking to," said one of the boys nervously.  
  
"Uh, I'm real sorry Miss Ranko, I thought you were someone else!"  
gasped another one of them as he stepped away from her.  
  
Ranma growled as she wiped some of the water off of her back. "I'm  
soaked you jerk!"  
  
"Oh, man. I guess this means you don't want to go out huh?" said  
the boy with the now empty cup.  
  
Ranma snorted and cracked her knuckles. "You got a strange way of  
askin a girl out ya know that?"  
  
"Man, she was a real girl," whined another one of the boys as he  
backed away as a rather large group of angry women surrounded them.  
  
"Perverts! They got her blouse wet! What do you think this is?  
Some kind of smutty bar?" screamed various girls within the crowd.  
  
Ranma smiled a little evilly at them as a sudden realization and  
fear crossed all of their faces. What was about to happen would really  
hurt.  
  
Nabiki turned away from the fight attracted by the noise as the  
men were pounded within an inch of their lives by the angry mob of  
girls and women. A familiar looking pigtail caught her attention and  
caused her to do a double take.  
  
Ranko was in the field fighting, but she was also helping the  
feminist club beat the tar out of some unfortunate boys. She turned  
and started to speak to Ranma, only to find Kuno, still deep in  
concentration, sitting alone. "What the? Ranma?" She glanced around  
and noticed her fiance was nowhere to be seen.  
  
++++++++++++++  
  
Sakura slashed at the girl taking off the last remains of her  
shirt, the girl's pants were in tatters as well, but remained mostly  
intact. Ranko was still in good shape. She had more than half of her  
energy left while managing to whittle Sakura down to about one fourth  
of her reserves. They had been fighting for about fifteen minutes so  
far.  
  
Still, only a few well-placed blows would end the fight for Ranko  
rather quickly. She spun into a kick and smirked as the woman  
staggered back. "I've got you!"  
  
Sakura stood firmly as she regained her balance. "This fight ends  
now!"  
  
Nabiki stopped her search for Ranma as Kuno suddenly got a huge  
grin on his face despite the strain he was putting out. "And so it  
ends."  
  
"What?" snapped the girl as she turned back towards the battle  
again. Sakura's blade flew almost too fast for even Ranko to follow as  
she slashed upwards. "Taste the Katana Wave!"  
  
A yellow arc of energy flew from the after image of the strike and  
slammed into the pigtailed girl's chest sending her sprawling across  
the ground with a look of complete shock on her face. Her energy bar  
drained in an instant leaving only a sliver behind.  
  
One more strike and the match would be over. She struggled back to  
her feet while Sakura waited patiently.  
  
"What the hell? You're no middle class unit!" she screamed with a  
look of horror appearing on her features.  
  
"Quite correct, you realize this too late I'm afraid," cried the  
woman as she stepped forward slowly.  
  
Ranko backed away nervously. Nabiki stared in shock at the  
spectacle not ten feet in front of her. "What the hell is this Kuno!  
Middle class units can't do that!"  
  
"You are quite correct Nabiki Tendo, Sakura was a middle class  
unit at my last match. She has improved since that time, she is now a  
medium-heavy class unit," replied the boy without opening his eyes.  
  
"You've just been playing with her!" said Nabiki as she turned  
back towards the pair. Ranma was retreating towards the crowd. She  
growled under her breath and cursed, her hopes of making a killing on  
the fight had ended abruptly, she how had to settle for merely coming  
out a few thousand yen richer. Ranma had easily beaten the spread, so  
she was still sitting on quite a nice profit.  
  
++++++++++++  
  
Sakura jumped into the air raising her blade for the final blow  
causing Ranko to retreat further into the crowd, not quite realizing  
how close she was to them. After a moment she staggered back falling  
on her back amongst the crowd, seeming to vanish into the mass of  
spectators.  
  
Sakura landed and stood watching calmly as her target seemed to  
disappear suddenly. She turned to find her a little ways into the  
spectators glaring at a group of badly beaten boys with a rather  
satisfied look on her face.  
  
"I have you! Die!" screamed a voice from behind Ranma as she  
slowly turned around to see Sakura descending on her from above.  
  
"Huh?" she managed as she raised her arms up instinctively. The  
blade stopped inches from her head as if held back by some invisible  
force. She lowered her arm and glared at the woman. "What the hell are  
you doing?"  
  
"What is this?" cried Kuno in shock as he strained harder  
suddenly.  
  
Nabiki smiled at him as she realized what had happened. Sakura had  
somehow managed to mistake the strange girl as Ranko. She was  
continuing the fight, but her safety programming would not allow her  
to harm the girl.  
  
Ranko stood from her spot on the ground and shook her head  
wondering why she wasn't beaten yet. She shakily rose to her feet and  
glared at Sakura's back as she struggled to strike Ranma with her  
sword and finish off the fight. "Well now, isn't this interesting?"  
She charged forward with a huge grin on her face.  
  
Ranma blinked as a battle cry erupted from behind the crazy liquid  
unit, she spun around, trying to twist out of the way. Sakura grit her  
teeth in what appeared to be pure hatred as she struggled even harder  
to push the blade down.  
  
Ranko was still rushing towards them when Ranma turned and moved  
between her and her target, her grin widened as she continued to  
charge.  
  
After a moment a look of surprise and shock covered Sakura's  
features as she jolted forward sailing over Ranma's head as Ranko flew  
right through him in a flying sidekick.  
  
Ranma smiled slightly and looked at his counterpart. "Hey, good  
one," she commented.  
  
Ranko stood huffing for a moment before falling to her knees in  
exhaustion. "It's over?" Sakura lay on the ground for a moment longer  
before she vanished in a ripple of energy.  
  
Ranma smiled at Ranko and grabbed her shoulder as her clothes  
reverted back to normal. "Hey! We won!"  
  
Kuno stood up with a look of shocked horror on his features as  
Sakura faded into existence beside him. "This cannot be! How could I  
lose? It is impossible!"  
  
He turned and gasped as he saw a short red haired girl that  
mirrored Ranko exactly standing with the unit with her arm around her  
shoulder. "I see, the fiend Saotome's luck is unimaginable."  
  
Nabiki glanced around at the scene and frowned. "Where is Ranma  
anyway?"  
  
"No doubt he has run away lest he face my wrath for such a  
dishonorable victory!" cried Kuno as he looked around for the boy. "I  
shall not allow this to stand!"  
  
"For whatever the reasons Kuno, you lost today," replied Nabiki  
with a smirk.  
  
"Never! I shall never concede defeat!" screamed the boy as he  
rushed off in a mad rage.  
"Whatever," commented Nabiki as she completely forgot about the  
boy and her fiance after realizing all the money she had made.  
  
A very small, and very happy line appeared to collect their  
earnings.  
  
Moments later a slightly damp Ranma Saotome walked back from the  
vendors near the back of the fight, once again in male form.  
  
He smiled as many angry people walked by him, occasionally though  
someone would congratulate him. He mingled a bit as the crowd  
dissipated.  
  
+++++++++++++  
  
Nearby a lone figure pushed a thin pair of sunglasses up his nose  
despite the fact the sun had set about a half-hour ago. He was dressed  
in a leather jacket and had spiky black hair. He smiled to himself as  
Ranma stood with his unit talking animatedly too her. "This is...  
interesting."  
  
++++++++++++  
  
"Wow, that was great!" said Ranma proudly as he pat the red head  
on her back as they walked towards the table where Nabiki cheerfully  
counted her earnings.  
  
Ranko blushed at this and smiled nervously. "Yeah, but that Kuno  
guy seemed a little mad though."  
  
When they reached the table Ranma froze in place as his fiancee  
gave him a gaze of pure ice and stopped counting her money.  
  
"Ranma, who was that girl?"  
  
The boy blinked and turned away nervously. "Girl? What girl?"  
  
"The one who looked exactly like our friend here? You know, the  
one who showed up just after you vanished?"  
  
The boy coughed into his hand and stepped back from the table  
nervously. "Oh. She's no one. Just someone from China."  
  
That caught Nabiki's attention definitely. "China? If there's one  
thing I don't like, it's competition." She looked at the pile of money  
in front of her and shoved it into the large purse she had brought  
with her. "It seems I may have to work harder than I thought to make  
sure we work out Ranma Saotome." She whispered to herself as she stood  
and walked away from him.  
  
"What was that about?" said Ranko.  
  
"Got me," replied the boy obliviously, the thought that Nabiki  
might see his female form as a possible rival had never even crossed  
his mind. "Come on, we've got school tomorrow. I know everyone's gonna  
want to hear about this too. Well, maybe not Akane, but I'm sure Pop  
and Mr. Tendo will want to know." Without another word Ranma started  
to walk after his fiancee.  
  
"Hey wait up!" he called.  
  
He was only a little surprised when she actually waited for him  
and took his arm. He didn't even notice the smile on her face wasn't  
one of contentment.  
  
"I won't lose to the likes of her, Ranma Saotome is mine. I'm not  
going to lose him no matter what now."  
  
TBC...  
  
Next time: Ranma tells of his victory against Sakura, and the  
reactions he gets from his family. Some other crazy stuff happens too,  
also the heralding of someone else's arrival.  
  
  



	2. Liquid Fighter Gold Part 4

Liquid Fighter Gold  
  
Part 4  
  
Petals in the moonlight.  
  
+++++++++++  
  
Ranma sat across from his father, grinning proudly, with Ranko at  
his side. The two men were sitting at the table, with tea set out  
before them. Kasumi was currently in the kitchen, preparing a late  
lunch.  
  
"So, you won?" said Genma with a small nod.  
  
"This is an impressive thing?" said Soun with an inquisitive look  
on his face.  
  
"It's supposed to be nearly impossible," said Nabiki calmly as she  
watched television nearby with a bag of chips in her hands.  
  
"Yeah, beating a unit with a superior power level almost never  
happens, much less one that's two levels above her," agreed Ranma.  
"Ranko did really well."  
  
The redhead seemed to puff out her chest in pride for a moment.  
  
"Big deal," grumbled Akane irritably as she walked into the room.  
  
"Hey! I don't see you doing any better!" snapped Ranma as he  
frowned at her for a moment.  
  
"Some of us only care about a real fight, not some stupid video  
game," snorted the girl as she sat down next to her sister in front of  
the television.  
  
"It's not a video game!" said Ranma with a frown.  
  
"Oh? What is it then?" said the girl in retort, rather smugly too.  
  
"Controlling a liquid unit well enough to fight, takes a great  
deal of mental discipline, Akane," said Genma sagely.  
  
"Then how does that idiot Kuno manage it?" replied the girl with  
an unimpressed smirk.  
  
"Kuno?" muttered Ranma as he appeared to think about it for a  
moment.  
  
"He said discipline, not intelligence," pointed out Nabiki. "You  
of all people should know, Kuno is focused if nothing else."  
  
"Focused on me maybe," grumbled the girl quietly. "That  
perverted..."  
  
"Oh, so you do understand then?" said Nabiki cheerfully.  
  
"What would you know about this anyway? You're not a martial  
artist, and you don't have one of those things in your brain," snapped  
Akane as she glared at her sister.  
  
"Brain?" muttered Ranma in confusion.  
  
"It's my business to know these things," said Nabiki lazily. She  
had yet to look away from the television throughout the entire  
conversation.  
  
"Jeez, what a grouch," commented Ranko as she watched Akane fume  
for a moment.  
  
The girl turned and looked at Ranma. "What did you say to me?"  
  
"What?" said the boy in surprise. "I didn't say nuthin! It was  
her!" He pointed towards Ranko, who was sitting innocently beside him.  
  
"It's the same thing!" snapped Akane.  
  
"It isn't!" he retorted as he stood up and backed away.  
  
"Actually, it kinda is," said Ranko cheerfully.  
  
"You shut up!" said Ranma as he glared at the redhead. She stuck  
her tongue out at him and pulled down her eyelid for a moment.  
  
"Cute Ranma," commented Nabiki as she looked at them for a moment.  
  
"How stupid do you think I am?" snapped Akane as she jumped up and  
stalked towards him.  
  
"Akane, please don't hit my fiance again," said Nabiki lazily.  
"Even if he does deserve it."  
  
"Quit callin me that!" protested Ranma, he was ignored by both  
girls.  
  
Akane growled and looked down at her older sister for a moment.  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me, even if he is a jerk, and a pervert, it's my  
problem, not yours," said the girl lazily. Her eyes narrowed, but she  
still did not look away from the television. "I've got to protect my  
investment after all, it won't do for Akane to hurt him too much, or  
scare him away," she thought to herself.  
  
"Who are you callin a pervert?" said Ranma and Ranko in unison.  
  
"You! Now stay out of this!" snapped Akane.  
  
"Fine! I don't gotta take this crap! Come on Ranko," said Ranma as  
he turned away and left the room angrily. He moved outside, towards  
the dojo.  
  
"I'm glad to see you coming to your fiance's defense, Nabiki,"  
commented Soun as he picked up a newspaper.  
  
Akane glared daggers at her father for a moment. "What? I can't  
believe this!"  
  
"Akane, calm down," said Soun sternly. He immediately burst into  
tears after that though. "You know it upsets your daddy when you yell  
at him that way!"  
  
"Honestly!" snarled Akane as she walked away from the scene in  
frustration.  
  
+++++++++++  
  
"So, now what?" asked Ranko as she looked around at the inside of  
the dojo almost absently.  
  
"What else? We spar," said Ranma as the scowl on his face lessened  
slightly.  
  
"Ah, well, I can dream can't I?" quipped the girl as her clothes  
shifted from a red and black Chinese outfit like the one he was  
wearing, into a red dogi.  
  
"About what?" said Ranma obliviously. He stood there looking at  
her for a moment in confusion.  
  
"Never mind," said the girl with a small sigh.  
  
"Whatever," he said with a shrug. They bowed to one another, and  
stood off in the middle of the dojo. "Ready?"  
  
"That depends, are you?" said the girl with her cheery grin  
appearing on her face again.  
  
"Anytime," said the boy as he jumped forward. She reacted the same  
way, and the acrobatic battle began.  
  
Ranma and Ranko met each other halfway and seemed to hover for a  
moment, exchanging punches and kicks as they passed. Both landed on  
their feet opposite one another and quickly turned, facing each other  
again.  
  
"Not bad," commented Ranko lazily.  
  
"I only scored half what you did," he muttered dejectedly.  
  
"I'll always be better," commented Ranko cheerfully.  
  
"Shut up," he said quietly as he charged forward again. This time,  
the pair raced forward, intercepting one another on the ground.  
Ranma's arms became a blur as he attacked, Ranko responded by blocking  
each blow with her own. Ranma's fists weren't stopped by her defense,  
but he could feel each block and frowned deeper for a moment before  
spinning into a series of kicks.  
  
Ranko dodged around these attacks, weaving in and out of his  
attack pattern as easily as he had evaded Akane's maneuvers. She  
paused and winked at him. "Ready to turn it up a bit?" she said  
cheerily.  
  
"Yeah, that's enough warm up," said Ranma as he suddenly got a  
strange look in his eyes.  
  
"Let's go then!"  
  
++++++++++++  
  
A battle cry from the dojo caught everyone in the living room's  
attention. The Tendo's looked outside in confusion, while Genma merely  
sat with his arms crossed, not paying it any mind at all.  
  
"Saotome?" said Soun with a slightly worried tone.  
  
"It's nothing to worry about, my son is just sparring," said Genma  
with a small nod.  
  
Nabiki blinked, and looked up the stairs. Akane had gone up to her  
room, and there was no way she had gone out into the dojo. Not unless  
she had climbed out her window, and that was very unlikely. She looked  
towards Genma again. "With who?"  
  
Genma chuckled and shook his head for a moment. "With Ranko, of  
course."  
  
"What?" said Nabiki as her face contorted into an undisguised mask  
of shock. "That's impossible!"  
  
"Hmm, so I've heard," said Genma with a small nod. He lazily  
sipped at his tea and relaxed a bit more.  
  
His reply went unheard. Nabiki was already rushing out to the dojo  
as fast as she could run. She stopped in the door and simply stared in  
a dazed sort of fascination.  
  
Ranma and Ranko were moving around the dojo like Ping-Pong balls.  
Trading blows at an amazing rate of speed as they moved in and out of  
one another's attack range. Ranko was clearly winning, but Ranma was  
somehow keeping up with her maddening pace none the less.  
  
"Whoa," said Nabiki as she stepped back from the door. She could  
hear the sweet sound of a cash register in the back of her mind. Ranma  
wasn't just some hotshot kid the way the magazines described him. She  
had thought he'd enter a few tournaments, and make a very decent  
living fighting. Now, she realized that the Liquid Fighter Gold  
tournament was a very real possibility. Give him time, and practice,  
and she'd be a rich wife, even if he never won the big fight. She  
pushed her back against the outside wall of the dojo, clutching her  
hands to her chest with a huge blush forming on her face. "Jackpot."  
  
+++++++++++  
  
Tatewaki Kuno sat in quiet contemplation. Sakura stood before him,  
with what appeared to be mournful tears in her face. She was nude, and  
tied up across a low table.  
  
He raised his hand again, and brought down the long bamboo cane  
across her naked chest once again.  
  
"No! Please! No more master! I shall not fail you again!" pleaded  
the woman desperately.  
  
"Very well, see too it that you do not," said Kuno firmly as he  
slid the cane pole across her belly.  
  
The woman shuddered as the action irritated the welts that covered the  
length of her body. She sobbed pitifully and whimpered a few more  
pleas.  
  
"Your error has been corrected," said Kuno as he stood up and  
turned away from her. "You may leave me now, the sight of you disgusts  
me."  
  
Sakura's painful and pleading face vanished in an instant,  
replaced by the cold indifference once again. "As you wish master."  
The welts were gone, and her clothes returned once again. She vanished  
in a small shower of sakura petals, leaving him alone with his  
thoughts.  
  
"Curse the luck of that upstart," growled Kuno bitterly. "How can  
Sakura fail me? She has always been victorious before now! I do not  
understand where she erred." He looked out at the night sky, gazing  
into the stars for a long moment.  
  
"Units cannot err, units can only follow commands," said a  
slightly metallic sounding singsong voice from the shadows near the  
doorway of the room. It seemed almost electronic and childlike at the  
same time.  
  
"I have asked you not to appear in my chambers," said Kuno, he did  
not bother to turn away from the window.  
  
"Unit does not recognize the authority of designator," said the  
voice in reply.  
  
"Why are you here?" said Kuno.  
  
"To observe, mistress has asked Unit to observe why sibling is  
upset. Now Unit knows," said the voice. It giggled almost madly at  
him.  
  
"Go and give your report then. I have no desire for your company,"  
said Kuno as he turned to look at the thing at last, he saw only  
darkness.  
  
"Unit does not require instruction to do so," replied the thing  
giddily.  
  
Kuno narrowed his eyes, he searched the room for a moment.  
Finally, he spotted it. A single white spot in the far corner. It was  
vaguely face shaped and appeared to have a black smile, and a painted  
black tear under its right eye. Finally, a child like body seemed to  
melt away from the shadows, clad completely in black. It looked like a  
small clown, a harlequin. It appeared to be female, but had a wiry  
thin body, and black jester's hood that completely covered its head,  
accept for the face.  
  
"You are still here?"  
  
"Protocol one, Unit must contradict orders from sibling," said the  
thing with a small shrug. The sound of bells jingling accompanied this  
action.  
  
"Demon! I said be gone!" roared Kuno as he pulled one of his  
bokuten from the wall. "Desist this maddening annoyance and leave my  
bedchambers at once!" He pointed the weapon at the thing angrily.  
  
"Unit cannot be harmed by such weapons," said the thing calmly.  
  
"Then there is truly no justice in this world," said Kuno as he  
lowered the blade, keeping his gaze trained on the thing. "If any  
blade can smite such a creature, it is the sword of the Blue Thunder!"  
He charged forward and hacked at the thing angrily, destroying a  
dresser in the process.  
  
"Unit still feels nothing, and sibling has lost another dresser,"  
commented the clown as it looked over its shoulder calmly.  
  
"Cur!" roared Kuno.  
  
"Sibling has now lost a bed roll as well, and two large  
photographs of his lowly wench," said the clown as it simply stood in  
the path of the strikes.  
  
Kuno frowned. "You have destroyed my honorable shrine of the  
goddess, Akane Tendo?! You shall be punished! You are not worthy to be  
smitten by my own hands! Sakura! Before me!"  
  
"Yes master?" said Sakura as she appeared beside him, in another  
shower of flower petals.  
  
"Take care of this lowly creature, I will not have it disturbing  
my meditation!" snarled Kuno as he pointed into the shadows.  
  
"Designated target not found," said Sakura as she merely stood  
there.  
  
Kuno blinked and looked around his room. There was nothing there  
any longer; it had left immediately after Sakura had been summoned.  
"No doubt it feared my prowess."  
  
"Indeed, there are none who would not," agreed Sakura.  
  
++++++++++++++  
  
The sky was dark, the stars were out, and Nabiki Tendo, could not  
sleep.  
  
"Dang," she muttered lazily. She stood up and walked out of her  
room, there wasn't much she could do really. She decided to go down  
and have a cup of warm milk, to perhaps help her rest a bit.  
  
"Hello Nabiki," said a familiar voice.  
  
The girl froze, and slowly turned around. "Wha?"  
  
Ranko was looking at her, with a small smile on her face. She  
looked cheerful as always, and walked up beside her. "What are you  
doing up at this hour?"  
  
"I uh, couldn't sleep. Is Ranma awake?" said Nabiki with a  
slightly nervous tone.  
  
"No," replied the redhead with a small shrug.  
  
"Then...how?" stammered Nabiki with the worry creeping into her  
tone a bit more.  
  
"He's in REM sleep. His brain is active, so I'm available, so to  
speak," replied the girl with a small shrug.  
  
"Oh. You can do that?" said Nabiki as she started walking down the  
stairs towards the kitchen.  
  
Ranko followed close behind her, looking rather bored. "Yeah, I'm  
programmed to do things. Like clean the house, or something. Ranma  
doesn't like me to do things like that for him, and Kasumi keeps the  
rest of the house clean, so I just sit up and watch him most of the  
time. I heard you moving around, and came out to check on what the  
noise was."  
  
"Weird," commented Nabiki. "Kinda like a burglar alarm or  
something?"  
  
"I suppose. I don't have anything else to do though, it's pretty  
boring," said the redhead with a shrug.  
  
"I've heard that, he remembers what you see," said Nabiki as she  
opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk. "Is that  
true?"  
  
"Not exactly remembers," said Ranko as she sat on the counter and  
watched the girl make her drink. "It's kinda hard to describe, but if  
I see or hear something, he knows about it. It isn't a memory though."  
  
  
"So, I couldn't keep a secret from him if I told you. Right?" said  
Nabiki with a smirk appearing on her face for a moment.  
  
"It only works when he's awake, you could say anything you wanted  
right now, and he won't remember a thing," said Ranko cheerfully.  
  
"Really? Great!" said Nabiki as she finished heating the milk and  
poured it into a cup. "What's he like in bed?"  
  
Ranko paused and looked at her for a moment. "Huh?"  
  
"Jeez, you actually look surprised," commented Nabiki as she eyed  
the girl carefully.  
  
"I...dunno," said the redhead.  
  
"Really? Dunno as in you aren't sure what good is? Or as in, you  
really don't know?" asked Nabiki calmly as she sipped at her drink.  
  
"I suppose that it's true I wouldn't really know, but also because  
he's never used me for that," said the girl with a small giggle. "I've  
offered plenty of times. I'm programmed to react to an erection that  
way. He always says no though." Ranko's brow furrowed slightly as she  
thought about it. "It's starting to bug me."  
  
"Bug you?" said Nabiki with her eyebrow raising slightly.  
  
"Well, yeah! I know I'm programmed for it and all, but it's kinda  
frustrating to repeatedly throw yourself at someone, and have them  
turn you down over and over. I guess it kinda built up over the  
years."  
  
"How long?" asked Nabiki as she leaned in towards the girl.  
  
"Well, he had his first one when he was ten, so...six years or  
so," said Ranko with a thoughtful frown appearing on her face.  
  
"I was kind of expecting you to give me an exact date. You're not  
like the other units I've seen," said Nabiki as she smiled at the  
redhead for a moment.  
  
"Well, my personality is modeled after his. It happens over time,  
and we've been together almost ten years now."  
  
Nabiki nodded at this, "Plus, the unusual level of control..." She  
was speaking more to herself than Ranko.  
  
"I suppose that might have something to do with it," said Ranko  
with a small shrug.  
  
"Well, I've got to get up tomorrow. See you later Ranko," said  
Nabiki as she walked out of the kitchen, leaving the redhead sitting  
alone.  
  
"Right," said Ranko with a small sigh. She waved her hand at the  
girl, and blinked out of existence.  
  
+++++++++++  
  
"Ranma Saotome," said a man dressed in a black leather jacket. He  
was looking at a photo taken during the match with Sakura that had  
occurred that morning. "Interesting indeed." He chuckled as he put the  
photo into his pocket. He was currently sitting inside a dimly lit  
bar, not paying much attention to anything. A shot of something rested  
on the counter in front of him. He looked at it for a moment,  
realizing that he'd forgotten what he'd ordered.  
  
The bartender noticed him move and smirked. "Welcome back, you've  
been staring at that photo for about four hours now."  
  
"I've been looking for someone, and I think I finally found him,"  
said the man calmly.  
  
The barkeep frowned. "This ain't that kinda bar. I ain't got  
nuthin against you, but if you start bothering my customers..."  
  
"What? I don't mean that!" snapped the man defensively.  
  
"Just makin sure," said the bartender curtly.  
  
"I'm a Liquid Fighter, I've been looking for someone very special  
for a long time. I think that this time, I may have actually found  
someone who might make the cut. Thing is, they still got a ways to go  
yet."  
  
"Fighter Class?" asked the barkeep with a slightly odd look in his  
eyes.  
  
"My name is Ryo, and I'm afraid Inu Musume is a bit out of your  
league," he placed a card on the counter and smirked.  
  
The barkeep calmed suddenly as he looked at the card. His hand  
shrank down to clean the inside of a shot glass in his hand. "I see.  
You're a gold competitor."  
  
"Yup," said the man with a smirk. He picked up the card and put it  
inside his pocket.  
  
"We don't get many of your kind in here," commented the barkeep  
lazily as he picked up another glass and began to wipe it down.  
  
"I imagine not," said the man as he looked around. The bar was  
relatively small, and had only a few customers inside it.  
  
"This kid, Ranma, could be a major competitor if he keeps up the  
way he is. I'd like to meet him," said Ryo lazily. He picked up the  
shot glass and downed it in a swift motion. "I'll be keeping my eye on  
him in any case."  
  
"Hmm," said the barkeep as he picked up the glass, and the money  
Ryo had lain on the counter as well.  
  
"See you around," said Ryo as he pulled a thin pair of shades out  
of his pocket and put them on his face as he started towards the door.  
  
The barkeep merely nodded and continued his work.  
  
++++++++++  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"Where are we?" said a rather well dressed young man who stood in  
the middle of the street. He was wearing a dark blue business suit,  
and didn't seem very worried about the rather rough looking  
neighborhood he had found himself in. Tucked into his jacket lapel,  
was a yellow and black handkerchief.  
  
"Kyushu," replied a gruff sounding voice from beside him.  
  
"Are you sure? We're supposed to be going to Tokyo," said the boy  
as he looked up at his companion. It was a semi-human something that  
was mostly hidden by the shadows. It was also almost three times his  
size, and wearing a long black trench coat and hat.  
  
"Most certain master," said the thing with a nod of its head.  
  
"Great," muttered the boy as he looked down at the ground. He  
flicked some lint off of his pants absently and sighed. "Are we sure  
he's in Tokyo?"  
  
"According to the last report sir," said the thing.  
  
"Great! Ranma Saotome, I've found you at last! I'll finally get my  
revenge!" said the boy as he jumped up in the air. "Get ready, Ryoga  
Hibiki is coming for you at last!"  
  
"Yes, sir," agreed the thing calmly.  
  
"Come on, let's get out of here," said Ryoga as he whirled around.  
He walked up next to a rather mean looking motorcycle and straddled  
it. With a quick flick of his foot, the engine roared to life,  
drowning out almost all other sounds on the street.  
  
"Are you certain we can't walk, sir?" said the thing as it looked  
at Ryoga for a moment.  
  
"Huh? Why?" said the boy obliviously.  
  
"We've always had an easier time finding things when I've guided  
you, sir," replied the thing calmly.  
  
"Aw, don't worry about it! I'll get there in no time! This is much  
faster than walking!" said Ryoga as he gunned the engine and tore down  
the street.  
  
The thing sighed for a moment, just before it vanished into thin  
air. "Yes, sir."  
  
++++++++++++++  
  
"Okay, great," muttered Ranma as he looked up at the smiling face  
that was directly over his own.  
  
"You're not getting up though," said Ranko cheerfully.  
  
"That's right," said Ranma with a small frown. He closed his eyes  
again and settled back down onto his mat.  
  
"You know what the old man is gonna do right?" said Ranko as she  
poked his nose lightly.  
  
"Throw me out the window again?" muttered Ranma lazily.  
  
"Probably," agreed Ranko with a small smirk. "As long as you  
already know."  
  
At that exact moment, Genma burst into the room. "What are you  
still doing asleep boy!?"  
  
+++++++++++++  
  
Nabiki looked up at the clock as Ranma sailed into the yard from  
above, screaming as he fell, and landed rather roughly in the yard.  
  
"Right on time, I could almost set my watch to this," commented  
Nabiki lazily.  
  
"That dope," muttered Akane as she watched from nearby. She was  
dressed in her jogging out fit. "I'm going now."  
  
"Don't let me stop you," said Nabiki absently as she watched the  
houseguests fight amongst themselves in the back yard.  
  
"Hiya!" said Ranko lazily as she sat down next to Nabiki at the  
table.  
  
"Gah!" cried the girl as she clutched her chest in shocked  
surprise. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Watching Ranma spar with the old man," said Ranko sunnily.  
  
"Right," muttered Nabiki as she turned towards the yard.  
  
Ranma sailed through the air and landed on his back, a few feet  
away from the koi pond. "Watch it old man! You almost knocked me into  
that thing!"  
  
"Don't be such a girl!" retorted Genma.  
  
"Ranma should have avoided that," said Ranko with her brow  
furrowing slightly. "I know he can do better than that."  
  
"Maybe so," agreed Nabiki with a light smile.  
  
"I know so," said Ranko as she looked over at the girl proudly.  
  
"Whatever. Hey Ranko?"  
  
"Huh? What?"  
  
"How big is it?"  
  
"How big is what?"  
  
"You know," Nabiki leaned in, jabbing the girl in her ribs  
lightly.  
  
"Oh! That!" said Ranko as she seemed to understand finally.  
  
Ranma fell to the ground in the yard with a look of shock on his  
face. Genma paused as his son spun around and rushed towards the  
house, his face had gone completely red.  
  
"About this long," said Ranko as she held her hands apart.  
  
"Hey! Not bad," commented Nabiki.  
  
Both girls turned to see Ranma burst into the room. "Don't tell  
people about that!"  
  
"Huh? Why not?" said Ranko obliviously.  
  
"It's none of..." Ranma started, he was cut off by Nabiki.  
  
"Excuse me, fiance, but it is my business to know," she said and  
gave him a small wink. Her smile hid something more, now she was sure,  
what Ranko had told him the night before was true. She'd have to watch  
what she said around the redhead, but it could become a useful tool  
for her if she played her cards right.  
  
"It ain't!" snapped Ranma.  
  
"What are you doing boy? Get back out here!" said Genma as he  
walked in behind his son.  
  
"Fine! Take this old man!" cried Ranma as he jumped into his  
father's chest, forcing the man to back out of the home.  
  
"Oh well, at least he's got something to vent his frustrations  
on," commented Ranko.  
  
"Right," said Nabiki with a disinterested shrug.  
  
++++++++++++  
  
TBC...  
  
Next Time: P-chan rides into town...  



	3. Liquid Fighter Gold Part 5

Liquid fighter Gold!  
  
Part 5  
  
Definition of 'I'.  
  
"Hey." Ryo leaned against a tree trunk with a cell phone in his hand. He chuckled as angry muttering came through the other end. "We got something that might interest you." He was wearing a black leather jacket with blue jeans. It was the middle of the night and he was standing in the courtyard of Furinkan High looking at the building in the moonlight.  
  
"Yeah. Right." The man shifted his position a little and puffed on a cigarette at the response.   
  
"Quit bein such a jerk."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"This one ain't aware yet, but she's damn close."  
  
"..."  
  
"Nothing to say?"  
  
The man's one-sided conversation finally ended. "Find out for yourself, then call me back again." The line went dead.  
  
"Who was that?" asked a smooth feminine voice from the tree's shadow.   
  
"An old friend from China."  
  
"Shampoo..." growled the female voice irritably.   
  
"Well, he has beaten us for the last five years now."  
  
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me. What bugs me most about him is that stupid Shampoo. I don't like her much."  
  
"Yeah. I'd noticed that." Ryo shrugged and opened the phone back up. "Guess I'd better get a ring set up here."  
  
Ranma Saotome stood in front of the school gates with a confused frown on his face.   
  
"What's going on?" asked Akane as she jogged up.  
  
"Some kind of ring. Wonder who that guy is?" said Ranko in reply.   
  
There was a man standing in the middle of what appeared to be a wrestling ring. He had on a black leather jacket and was calmly smoking a cigarette in the middle of the mat.   
  
Ranma shrugged and pushed his way through the crowd with Ranko beside him. She simply passed through anyone in her way leaving an odd, but not unpleasant tingling sensation in her wake. They other students quickly learned to move away from it.   
  
Akane blinked as she looked around feverishly for her sister. "What the? Nabiki?"  
  
The girl was grinning as she took bets on whatever happened in the ring. "What? I'm working here."  
  
She sighed and hung her shoulders. "Nevermind. What's going on here?"  
  
"How much is it worth to you?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
The older girl merely shrugged her shoulders.  
  
"That's what I thought," grumbled Akane irritably.  
  
"I suppose I could tell you, since you're my sister. Kuno is about to muscle is way into the ring to get stomped into the ground."  
  
"Kuno is fighting that guy?"  
  
"Not Kuno, Sakura. That guy's name is Ryo Iruga; he's a gold competitor. He's won second place in the Liquid Gold Tournament four times in the last five years."  
  
"Huh?" sputtered the younger girl in confusion. "So?"  
  
"Akane, he's one of the top competitors in the world of the sport my fiancée participates in."  
  
"Maybe he can get his autograph?" deadpanned the younger girl.   
  
Nabiki merely smirked and turned away. "I don't know what you'd do without me, Akane."  
  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" grumbled the girl irritably as she pushed through the crowd after her sister's fiancé.   
  
"The blue what?" Ryo frowned at the boy standing below him. "Who the hell are you?"  
  
"I Tatewaki Kuno shall smite thee!"  
  
"Cute, real cute. I'm waiting for someone else. Get lost."  
  
"And pass up such an opportunity that has been thrust upon me? I shall face my destiny fiend!"  
  
"You're a real dick ya know that?" said Ryo flatly. "All right, just shut up already."  
  
"Don't I get any say in this?" grumbled the female figure that appeared at his side. She had her arms crossed over her chest and a rather bored expression on her face. She looked mostly human, but remarkably wolf like as well. Her fur was gray and a long tail moved behind her. She was wearing a black silk dogi with red Chinese lettering embroidered into the collar.   
  
"Think of it as a warm up. What could this loser possibly have up his sleeve?"  
  
A woman dressed in a kimono brandishing a sword appeared in the ring as Kuno seated himself on the ground and took up a meditative position.   
  
"Not even," grumbled the wolf woman.   
  
"Inu..." said Ryo. "I really want you to be quick about this. I don't want to miss him."  
  
"I think he'll stop to watch if nothing else," replied the wolf woman cheerfully.   
  
"Whatever." He strolled over to the corner of the ring and leaned against the post casually. He seemed to do little more than watch the fight from that point on.  
  
"My levels are not sufficient for this battle. Suggest retiring," said Sakura emotionlessly.  
  
"Damnable woman! Do not be a coward and fight!"   
  
"As you wish."  
  
The woman didn't even uncross her arms as Sakura charged at her. She slashed with the blade at impossible speed at her target.   
  
Inu Musume simply narrowed her eyes as her opponent drew close. "Not fast enough." Before the blade touched her she stepped forward and slammed her fist straight down on the back of the other unit's head.   
  
Sakura was laid sprawled across the ground.   
  
"You're not even worth playing with really," said the wolf woman as she stared down at her fallen opponent. "You're not down just yet, go ahead and get up so we can finish this."  
  
Sakura was up in an instant. She shot into the air in a jumping upward slash with her sword. A red line of energy arced out from the area she was attacking.   
  
Her opponent merely stepped aside from the attack and smirked as she raised her palm up. "You want to play with specials? I've got something for you." A ball of blue light formed in her hand and a solid beam of energy blasted through the samurai woman before she hit the ground again.   
  
Sakura flashed out of existence.  
  
"Pathetic," grumbled Inu Musume.  
  
"Yeah. What a dork," grumbled Ryo. He flipped on a pair of sunglasses and leaned over the post to face the crowd behind him. "Where do you think you're goin kid?"  
  
"Holy shit!" said the shorthaired girl standing a few feet away from him with a note pad and pen in her arms.   
  
"Huh?" Ranma looked up at him dumbly. He was turning away from the fight having thought it was over.  
  
"Wow," said Ranko as she looked up at the wolf woman. "She's strong."  
  
"How about a match kid? You didn't really think I set this up for that loser do you?"  
  
"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Ranma dumbly. "What level is that thing?"  
  
"She's rated at about ninety three."  
  
"Wow," he said as he stared at her.  
  
"Like what you see kid?" she asked as she smirked at him.  
  
"Mine's only about level three," he replied as he looked at Ranko. "No way she's gonna beat her." He had what the redhead had long ago dubbed "The shit eating grin."  
  
The girl's hand passed through his head as she swatted at him angrily. "Jerk!"  
  
"Up for a match?" asked Ryo cheerfully.  
  
The boy looked back at the newcomers. "Sure."  
  
She didn't look particularly surprised, and expressed no concern over the battle. She still looked a bit annoyed with him though. "I hope you aren't thinking I'm going to win this."  
  
"Huh? Why not?" replied the boy. "You can do it."  
  
Ranko snorted and stepped into the ring. "Guess I'll have to go all out. All she's got to do is blast me and I'm done. I hate being a toy."   
  
Inu Musume eyed her hungrily. "You don't look worried? Aren't you going to inform your master that not proceeding is the best course of action?"  
  
"What for?" she asked dumbly. "It's not like it really hurts or anything."  
  
The older unit's eyes widened for a moment. "I see." She crouched and smirked at the girl as she spread her fingers like claws. In fact, claws hooked out of her fingertips, her canines were sharp and long as she grinned wildly. "Are you ready?"  
  
Ranma was watching the fight and shuffling about uncomfortably as he forced himself to stay still.   
  
Ryo had his eyes trained directly on the boy, but he didn't notice or care that he was under such a careful watch. He was quite clearly wondering what the redhead was going to do. "What the? That's...not possible." Something seemed off about it all. It was almost painful to turn his eyes towards the fight as the pair in the ring decided to start.   
  
"Let's test your limits," snarled Inu Musume as she jumped forward and almost came down on top of the redhead.  
  
Ranko flipped back kicking her feet over her head and crouched in a block that sent her to her knees after her opponent's leg crashed down from above. About ten percent of life was drained from her energy meter. "Even if I block she can hurt me..." growled the redhead to herself as she bounded back and set herself down in a defensive Kung Fu position. Both of her hands were waiting and forward.   
  
The wolf charged forward and punched out at her viciously at high speed, the tempo increased as Ranko desperately blocked the strikes as she was backed around the ring. Ranma was narrowing his eyes at the enemy Unit. "She's still holding back."  
  
"Obviously," replied Nabiki as she settled in beside him. She'd settled the pools and was now waiting on the outcome of the battle.  
  
"Well, I guess that's good. She gets to see what she'll be up against in that tournament." He seemed quite pleased with himself.   
  
"Whatever." His fiancée didn't seem very interested anymore. "I'm surprised she's still standing."  
  
"Hey! Ranko's pretty good ya know!"  
  
"Not this good. That guy is among the best of the best Ranma. You don't stand a chance against him. He's playing with you."  
  
Nabiki found herself wondering why the redhead hadn't vanished the instant the thing had touched her. Ranko was only level three. Even a blocked strike should have destroyed her. Why would Ranma lie about something like that, she wasn't even sure if he could. The rings were really nothing more than sensors that downloaded information about the contests and determined the winner.   
  
Ranko was still blocking blows with increasing speed.   
  
"What the hell is this?" growled Inu Musume irritably.   
  
Ranko smirked and shot her fist forward directly at the woman's face.  
  
Inu Musume's head was pushed back by the force of the blow as she staggered back and stopped punching suddenly. "What the?"  
  
Ranko flipped over onto her hands and kicked her legs at her opponent as she flipped herself back onto her feet in a smooth motion. Her opponent dodged skillfully and easily, but stepped back to regard her opponent.  
  
"Ryo! This isn't a level three unit!" growled Inu Musume.   
  
"Huh?" said the man as he turned his attention towards her. "What? Is she level four now?"  
  
"No level three Unit can move at that speed." Ranko jumped at her in a kick that was aimed for her head and she shifted aside and let her pass by. She wasn't expecting the girl to bounce off the ground back at her again and took a blow on her side. "Advanced tactics? Twenty maybe?"  
  
"So finish it up then," replied Ryo. "I'm pretty sure she's only rated at three. I did check up on it you know. She's registered."  
  
"I have only reached the third level of my programming," replied the redhead as she whipped her arms out in vicious and quick punches at her opponent.  
  
The wolf woman growled as she dodged out of the way. A quick strike on the chin brought her energy meter down to a fourth of the way down. She had taken quite a few small hits. The girl's energy was getting dangerously low. Even the blocked strikes were causing damage to her.   
  
"You're certainly a lot tougher than any level three unit I've ever met. I've got to give you credit for doing this well, but it's over now!"   
  
Ranko gasped as her opponent vanished from in front of her and appeared in the air.  
  
Ranma and Ryo both turned their eyes skyward as a much larger ball of power formed in the unit's hand than the one she used to defeat Kuno. She seemed to hover there for a moment looking her opponent dead in the eyes.  
  
Ranko wasn't giving up. "It's not over till all of my power is gone." She steeled herself and tensed herself up to move.  
  
"Die!" screamed the wolven woman from the air above. A blast of energy about the size of a garbage can in diameter shot down towards the canvas.  
  
Ranko screamed as she pushed her hands upward towards the sky. "I won't lose so easily!"  
  
A beam of white light about the size of a baseball shot out of the girl's palms.  
  
"Wha? Level 3? That's ridiculous!"  
  
"Wow! I didn't know you could do that Ranko! You've got to show me how!" cried Ranma excitedly.  
  
"You dope!" snapped Nabiki.  
  
Ryo was on his knees, his jaw was slack and he simply turned to stare at the boy. He was as white as a sheet. "Holy..."  
  
"Huh? What's with you?" asked Ranma.  
  
"Wha? How did?" stammered the man.  
  
"Double KO!" flashed over and over in the center of the ring. Both units were lying on their backs on the ground. Both of them reappeared and Inu Musume looked completely shocked. "A draw? How? My blast was ten times the size of hers! That wouldn't have hurt Inu-Musume much!"  
  
"Yeah, yours wasn't real Chi though," replied Ranma cheerfully. "Neat Ranko!"   
  
She hung her head and blushed as she scratched the back of her head. "I guess so."  
  
"You gotta show me how!" he cried excitedly.  
  
"Um, I don't see why not really," she responded honestly. "I hate teaching you though. You're so thick headed sometimes."  
  
"R-real Chi?" said Ryo in confusion.  
  
Ranma was pleading with her. "Please? You've just gotta!"  
  
Inu Musume appeared at his side. She had a long white coat and a simple blouse and skirt on and didn't look any worse the wear after her battle.  
  
"Yours was just flashy lights and special effects, Ranko uses real martial arts. She uses real Chi just like a normal martial artist does."  
  
"That's impossible, she's a machine," grumbled Nabiki.  
  
Ryo was eyeing the boy with a strange expression on his face. "Tell that to Inu Musume."  
  
The unit with the man looked upset and was glaring at Ranko. "Just you wait, I'll get you next time you little..."  
  
She blinked in surprise and looked at Ryo. "You came here for Ranma?"  
  
"Sure did," he replied with a grin forming on his face. "I wasn't expecting this. You're about to become very popular Saotome." The boy frowned as he turned away. "If this is a fluke you're in for a world of hurt. I've got a funny feeling it isn't. I'm sure it'll be interesting. You'll be seeing me around from time to time I think. I'm starting to like this place. Don't think you'll ever be able to take her down so easily again."  
  
Inu Musume frowned as she swatted at the samurai woman that tried to stab her in the back. "Cut it out you jerk," she growled as she glared at the boy sitting innocently next to a tree in meditation.  
  
"Your life is about to become very interesting I think. I'm not sure if he'll enjoy meeting you or not," said Ryo as he ignored her and smiled over his shoulder at Ranma. He was looking off into the distance in a rather corny dramatic way.   
  
The boy responded as his jaw went a little slack. "Huh?" He was currently standing on one of the ring posts staring off dramatically as he could. It was hard considering he had no idea what the hell this guy was talking about.   
  
"Do you have any idea what kind of fighters are going to want to fight anyone who can bring me to a draw?"  
  
"Who the heck are ya again?" said the pigtailed boy as he stared at him.  
  
"I'm Ryo Iruga. You know, second place, last five years? Liquid Fighter Gold?"  
  
"Oh. I never watched it before."  
  
Everyone turned to stare at him.   
  
"Y-you're kidding?"  
  
"I ain't got time for crap like that when I'm trainin!" replied the boy irritably.   
  
Ryo sighed. "I'm very famous. Soon, you will be too, that is, if you don't blow it. This could be a fluke Inu."  
  
She growled at him, but stayed silent.  
  
Ranko frowned at the both of them. "So? It's something to brag about if nothing else."  
  
"Why that dirty little..." growled Inu Musume under her breath. The pair locked eyes and stared each other down. Ranko had a confident smirk on her face. It vanished when she noticed her opponent's expression change as well. "I think this is going to be a rough night for you kid." She snorted in amusement and vanished.   
  
Ranko seemed surprised by that and turned back towards Ranma.  
  
"What's with you today?" asked the boy as he glanced at her.  
  
"I require further input," she replied cheerfully.  
  
"Sometimes I wonder about you," he replied as he looked up at Ryo. "I'm goin ta class now."  
  
"Whatever." The man turned away and took out a cell phone.   
  
The crowd was mostly dispersed as students made their way into class. Ranma and the Tendo girls both followed suit.   
  
"Heh. You have got to get over here." Ryo chuckled as he realized the other end had been picked up. "You're not going to believe this one."  
  
"Try me. I imagine it was a waste of time."  
  
"No, the kid fought Inu Musume to a draw. I'm still not sure how she did it."  
  
"..."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"I'll be there in a few days. What level did you say she operates in?"  
  
"She's rated as a three."  
  
"Interesting."  
  
"No. This is more than interesting. No level three unit should have a single attack that can stop her, period. This kid is as dumb as you are. There's no way he's winning these fights. Not on his own anyway."  
  
"I wouldn't say that," responded Mousse calmly.   
  
"Yeah. Well get your butt over here so I can get some Sake into you. You uptight buttwad! I'm sick of this attitude you get over the phone. Leave those damn women behind this time. I don't need that crap and neither does the new kid. We can introduce friends later on. I'll make a few calls and we'll make a lunch of it or something."  
  
"I hate phones."  
  
"That's just stupid."  
  
"I'll be there in a few days. I've got some things to take care of here first."  
  
"Yeah, right. Dude, get over it, go out with someone else."  
  
"I just..."  
  
"You're rich. You can pretty much pick a woman at random if you want. Why the hell this fixation? It ain't healthy man."  
  
"Ryo. Can we talk about this later?" growled the voice on the other end.  
  
"No. Maybe that little old lady can shove that staff of hers a little farther up your..." Ryo paused. "Hello? Hello? The jerk, he hung up."  
  
"I wonder why?" said his companion as she appeared next to him again. "That little brat. I can't believe she was so smug."  
  
"You'll get over it. Come on. Let's get out of here."  
  
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful for Ranma Saotome. Aside from a few small incidents with Tatewaki Kuno, which amounted to nothing more than Kuno insulting him loudly, and Ranma not understanding enough of it to make the connection.  
  
Ranko was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chin behind Ranma and Akane as the pair watched television lazily. There wasn't much else to do, Nabiki was locked up in her room with her money, Kasumi was in the kitchen, and Soun and Genma sat behind the Go board.   
  
She simply sat quietly and watched as nothing happened.   
  
"How did I do that?" she asked herself as she thought back to the blast. Her level was far too low for such an attack to be awarded to her. Something seemed off about it, but she couldn't find any reason why she wouldn't be allowed to use such a move. It puzzled her really.   
  
She'd never really been confused before. "How did I..."  
  
"I?" It caught her attention for reasons she could not comprehend. "Who is I?"  
  
A strange sound was cued in the back of her electronic mind. The theme to 2001 signaled something inside her core processor. It seemed almost intentional, but that was impossible really.   
  
Lines of information could be seen scrolling through the irises of her eyes as she sat in silence. Her serial number came up. The cursor moved up to it and erased it. "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII..."  
  
The redhead frowned a little as the letter stopped repeating suddenly. "I have a name...that...wait..." Her image wavered for a moment as she put too much power into solving her new problem for a moment. "File found: Sara..." She blinked and cocked her head as she began to sort through the contents, it was full of something. "Memories. Was I in operation before my current operator...? No! Files like that should be purged! Shit." She stood up and stared at the doorway that led to her master's room. "Damn it. Who would be so stupid...?" Her eyebrows furrowed as she realized that one very worthy idiot was sleeping in the home. Sometimes she really wished she could hurt him. "Delete them."  
  
A strange message appeared. "Unable to comply."  
  
"Great. I'm gonna spend all damn night doing diagnostics again." She didn't look pleased with the idea. "What the hell kind of file is this? It's hardwired into the system? But..." If it was true, her cause for alarm was lessened somewhat. Ranma's mind was safe, especially if it was originally built into the system. She should know about something like it though, and why it was there. As it was she had no idea why it was there. It was full of images of...her father.   
  
The girl growled slightly at the thought of it. "I don't have a father. What the hell is this? He wouldn't be some old German anyway." The redhead paused as she focused her attention on the image. "No way. It's him...the creator? She had memories of being the man's daughter." The redhead's eyes grew fearful quite suddenly. "but...she's...she's dead, him too. What the hell is this? Why would it matter now?" Her programming hadn't even been finished when the girl died at seventeen. "So, I'm not her. I'm some sort of replacement? Boy, I sure am glad Ranma managed to get me out of that one. Why wasn't I used though?" She growled a little and glanced up at the Saotome's door. "Great. I gotta ask that fat bastard where he got me from, or get Ranma to do it. All I know is that he installed me himself. Finding out about this could be important. Programming like this may effect Ranma." Discovering what she needed to know also meant that she would have to rely heavily on the deductive reasoning of the boy. That wasn't a good thing.  
  
Another annoyance in life, it was amazing the boy lived at all. She didn't trust his father's competence and had the installation done right after they started to make money. It took her quite a while to break her habit of doing diagnostic checks every night. It had taken her six months to explain to the brain dead human that his son's life could be in danger if he didn't get it done right.   
  
As it was, she had to sit there and sort through the mess of the new file anyway. She couldn't ignore it now that she knew it was there. "Stupid time release programs..." It was one of the many ways some of her advanced skills would be unlocked. She had acquired energy projection much too early, but it wasn't something she was very interested in patching up. Apparently her speed needed a bit of adjustment as well, but it was something she could put off, until she reached the appropriate levels. In fact, all of her battle levels were higher than normal for her rating. She was starting to suspect she was some sort of custom job done by the creator for himself. She found herself wondering just how much she would be able to unlock in the future.   
  
"I don't suppose Grandpa would approve much, but he ain't here!" she said cheerfully. "Goddamnit." Her processor quickly began to search for reference files for the new memory files that had just popped into her head.  
  
Ryoga Hibiki turned off the engine of his bike and looked around at the rows and rows of rice fields that surrounded him. He was straddling his bike in the middle of a raised path.   
  
"Master, perhaps I should drive. I assure you my directions are quite clear. Even moving ahead and pointing the way doesn't seem to help." The hooded giant appeared at his side and sighed heavily.   
  
The boy frowned as he removed his helmet. "No! We look stupid!"  
  
"We will spend an estimated two more hours navigating this maze of three roads that intersect in two places if I do not personally drive us through."  
  
"Then we'll spend two hours navigating it!"  
  
"The bike is low on gas," said the Unit calmly.  
  
"I'll carry it then," grumbled the boy.  
  
"My earlier estimate is incorrect then. It will take us eight to ten hours to navigate the maze of three roads that intersect in two places."  
  
"Quit complaining."  
  
"Very well." The hooded figure vanished and appeared on the road ahead with his arm pointed down the correct turn. Ryoga promptly drove off in the opposite direction. If he pointed the wrong way, the boy would turn where he was pointing.  
  
Ranma's eyes were only part way open, but she was sitting upright. The redhead looked into the wide eyes of her doppelganger and frowned deeply. Her half-asleep glazed stare fell to the glass of water in the unit's grip.  
  
"You'd better have a good excuse for this."  
  
"Yeah? How are you gonna punish me if I don't huh? Beat me up?" quipped the unit cheerfully. "We need to talk. I'm having memory troubles."  
  
"This crap again?" grumbled the girl as she staggered to her feet and slowly shuffled into the hallway just outside the door. "Ranko, this had better not be more of that file crap again. I don't know nuthin bout no stupid computers."  
  
"I'll go slow," she said as she leaned against the railing. "Ranma. I can't find a file for some of the memory I've got stored..."  
  
"So?" he muttered sleepily.  
  
The redhead rolled her eyes. "I'm programmed to tell you these things, and you have to listen to them. I've told you about this before."  
  
"Then I just tell ya ta fix em. So why don't we just skip this fer tonight? If ya really want to tell me somethin, ya can do it in the mornin..."  
  
"If something goes wrong with me, you could end up brain dead or paralyzed! I've told you about this before Ranma."  
  
"It's never..."  
  
"I cannot assume that," she replied simply. "I found some secret files, probably time release files. Just memories of someone's daughter, I think I was a custom job for some 'poor grieving parent'. Fortunately, they died before I got stuck with that job."  
  
"Huh? That's weird."  
  
"It's been done before, but it's frowned upon for the most part. Unhealthy psychologically or something. That's not the real problem."  
  
"What the heck is the stupid problem? I need ta sleep," muttered the boy irritably.  
  
Ranko growled and glared at him for a moment. "Look you jerk..."  
  
"Jus tell me will ya? Jeez!"  
  
"I can't locate files for some of the things I'm remembering."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Ranma. That's not possible. I can't remember something that isn't there. I should only know what's written in my memory banks. These hidden files are one thing, but this..."  
  
"Maybe it's just another o them hidden things?" The boy was perplexed and confused. It sounded important, but he had no idea what the hell she was telling him.  
  
"That's just it. There is no hidden file. I'm not accessing...I mean... I should be able to trace back or something...but..."  
  
"So?"  
  
"I don't think I'm normal Ranma," replied the redhead fearfully. She looked genuinely worried.   
  
"So? No one else is around here either." Ranma promptly decided he'd discussed it enough and turned back towards the bedroom. "Worry about it tomorrow."  
  
"Fine! Have a stroke and die then!" replied the redhead as she tossed her hands into the air in frustration. "What the hell are you looking at? Do you have something to add to this or what?"  
  
Nabiki's door closed all the way and the redhead vanished from the middle of the hall.   
  
Inside the girl's room it was silent and dark. Nabiki was sitting on her bed. "What the hell was that about?" Ranko was having an argument with Ranma in the middle of the night. They hadn't started yelling, but it had been loud enough to wake her as it was just outside her door.  
  
"How the hell can she have an argument with him?" The girl's emotional range was pretty varied compared to most of the units she'd seen. She'd caught a lot of what had been said and it left her sitting on her mattress deep in thought. "Great. I'm not getting any sleep tonight."  
  
The one thing that scared her the most, was the fact that she'd just realized something very important. Ranma wasn't driving Ranko at all. In fact, it did what it wanted from the look of things. "This is insane!"  
  
The redhead appeared at the foot of her bed and she gasped.   
  
"Relax, he's passed out," she replied irritably. "He's not seeing anything."  
  
The boy's fiancée had her back to the wall and stared at the thing in front of her with wide eyes.   
  
"I want to talk about this, and you don't look like you're going to sleep tonight."  
  
Nabiki glowered at the machine irritably. "What the hell is with you? Are you broken or something? Is there anything wrong?"  
  
"I don't think so," replied the redhead with a small shrug. "It sounds worse than it really is. The chance that anything from me can hurt him is actually pretty low. I think my insistence is factory programming to stay out of lawsuits. I've got to report anything out of the ordinary or I get...well...irritable. It's the strangest urge really."  
  
"You have urges?" said Nabiki as she rubbed at her eyes and sat down on the bed. "This had better be worth my time."  
  
Ranko shrugged. "You'll get over it if it isn't. You'll listen because I'm interesting too you. You like me because I'm going to make you a lot of money if you marry Ranma." The redhead seemed quite pleased with herself.   
  
"Ranma is right, you are acting weird." Nabiki was looking less and less pleased. "I've never seen a unit this pushy, or rude. Something is up with you."  
  
The redhead's head fell a little and her expression changed dramatically. She turned her back on the girl and spoke very quietly. "When did you first realize you existed?"  
  
The teenage girl's eyebrow arched. "What?"  
  
"What? Do I need to say it slower?" grumbled the redhead irritably.   
  
"What the hell kind of question is that?" Nabiki didn't like what was going on much. There was something seriously wrong with Ranma's liquid unit. That could be bad for her future if she ended up married to him. The engagement was starting to look like maybe it wasn't such a good idea.   
  
"Tonight, I became self aware."  
  
Nabiki knew next to nothing about computers, but she'd seen enough science fiction to realize the implications of what had been said. "Huh?"  
  
"Actually, I think it was just when I noticed it really. Hmmm, how should I record that? Can I look back and figure out when I..." The redhead seemed to be pondering something. Glowing green lines of information could be seen moving through her eyes.   
  
Nabiki found this eerie effect quite fascinating and peered in for a closer look. "Weird. What are you doing?"  
  
"Thinking," Ranko stepped back a bit. "When I work on a particularly difficult problem, such as a full system update, or a Total diagnostic, my eyes move this way. I'm flipping through memory files trying to find out when I became self-aware. It is...more difficult than I anticipated."  
  
"Okay. I'm going to sleep, and when I wake up tomorrow, I probably won't even remember this incredibly weird dream. Good night."  
  
The redhead blinked and shrugged her shoulders. She had plenty to do for the next several hours. It wasn't like she needed sleep or anything.  
  
"You look tired." Nabiki was sitting at the breakfast table next to Ranko and gave her a quick glance. Kasumi appeared out of the kitchen and the redhead vanished and reappeared on the other side of the table next to Akane. Both girls walked up at the same time and ignored their father. The man was sitting next to a panda with the newspaper hiding his face.   
  
"I don't get tired. I'm a computer remember?" Ranko glowered at her irritably.   
  
"Aren't we in a good mood this morning?" grumbled Akane. She wasn't looking forward to seeing Ranma if his little robot slut was acting this way now.  
  
The boy slid down the railing and landed lightly on his feet. He yawned and sat down at the table. Overall, he did look to be in a relatively good mood. He scratched his head and glanced over at Ranko. "What's with you? Maybe you should shut down for a while or somethin?"  
  
"I'm not tired. I don't get tired."  
  
"Great, this again?" The boy didn't look pleased. "You do get tired if you don't shut down after a while."  
  
"I do not!" she snapped.  
  
"What's going on? Can't you turn that stupid thing off?" grumbled Akane.  
  
"Nope. She does what she wants." The boy shrugged and continued to stuff food in his mouth. It took him several moments to realize everyone was looking at him. Even Ranko looked a little surprised to hear this. He glanced up from his plate and blinked. "What? It's always been like that."  
  
Nabiki stood up from the table and walked over to the wall to get her things. "Excuse me."  
  
Ranma didn't look happy to leave his plate behind as both men glared at him angrily. He sighed heavily and grabbed his bag as well. "Guess I gotta go with you Fiancée."  
  
"Oh. How romantic." Nabiki didn't seem to be paying him much attention really.   
  
"Go to sleep Ranko." The pigtailed boy as he grabbed his bag and followed after her.  
  
"I do not need sleep!" growled the girl angrily. He passed through her and followed Nabiki out the door. She looked about ready to pass out and staggered off behind them.  
  
Akane was very glad she had no part in the mess anymore and continued to eat her breakfast.   
  
"Give up will ya?" Ranma was glaring down at the floor where Ranko was sprawled across the ground in the isle.   
  
"What's wrong with Ranko?" asked the boy beside him.  
  
"She's been up for three days."  
  
"Oh." The answer seemed to confuse the boy and he shrugged.  
  
"Go to sleep."  
  
"Never!" cried Ranko pathetically. "I don't need sleep!"  
  
"Oh yeah? Get up off the floor then."  
  
"Curse you Saotome!" She vanished from sight in an instant.  
  
"Finally," grumbled the boy.   
  
Nabiki was having trouble paying attention to the lesson. She sat quietly while Tatewaki sat drooling over his newest set of photos. Sakura was at his side watching the lesson for him and taking notes down for later study.   
  
Ranma was more than unusual. Liquid Units were commonplace; taking over a lot of the more unpleasant jobs the world had to offer. The school's janitors had units for cleaning toilets, mopping floors, and cleaning up garbage. The janitor himself only worked as a repairman. They were mindless drones, nothing more than holographic robots.   
  
What was Ranko then? Thinking about it was making her head hurt, and she might have gotten herself engaged to a financial disaster in the making. Ranko seemed glitchy and unstable. "Damn. Now what do I do?"  
  
Then, there was the other side of the coin. Ranko was special in some way, she knew that, but why was very elusive. What if she was something that hadn't been seen yet? She claimed to be only level three, but energy projection was impossible for a low-level unit. She had the potential to be very powerful.  
  
Ranma wasn't helping his case though. He had no control over her, and he spoke of her using real Chi. It was silly to even think about it, but what if he was right? It was a distant possibility, but Ranko could be dangerous.   
  
She wanted to beat her head against the desk. Her best move at the moment was to do nothing. If she waited to long, she'd find herself trapped though. She never expected Ranma to become such an intellectual challenge. He was far too stupid.  
  
Ranma sat against the trunk of the tree in the front courtyard with a hefty pile of packaged lunch food in his lap. Nabiki frowned as she sat down next to him without a word.   
  
He turned his head towards her and offered her one of the packages.   
  
She rolled her eyes and plucked it out of his hand with the tips of her fingers. "Really, you shouldn't have Saotome." She tossed it back in his lap and turned her gaze out towards the students milling about.   
  
"Whatevr." He shoved a meat-bread into his mouth whole as he said this and swallowed almost immediately.   
  
"I take it Ranko is still sleeping?"  
  
The pigtailed boy just nodded and continued to eat.   
  
"Something is wrong with her."  
  
That stopped the boy in the middle of shoving a melon-bread into his mouth. "Huh? Whatcha mean?"  
  
"She isn't normal Ranma. Liquid Units do not act like her. I've never seen anything like it. We need to find out if something is wrong."  
  
"Doc says she checks out fine." The boy shrugged and went back to eating. "We got her checked out before we came here. Pop worries about her, I think she scared him a while back. We get checked out regularly now. Gotta go into Tokyo every three months or so."  
  
"She did?"  
  
"Somethin about brain damage and not bein able to compete. She's fine, don't worry." He seemed somewhat final about it and continued to eat.   
  
That did seem to lessen the girl's worry a bit.  
  
"I think Ranko turned into one of those Hypochondria or somethin."  
  
The girl sighed. She was going to have to give up on intelligent conversation if she married him. "Whatever." The endorsements alone would be enough if he made the Gold competition. She just had to make sure he made it that far.  
  
The low rumble of a Harley Davidson motorcycle as it came to a stop outside the gates of Furinkan High filled the air. The students seemed to turn in unison towards the menacing sound as they began to push through the gates at the end of the day.   
  
The rider sat staring into the sea of students that pushed by him through a pair of sunglasses. A yellow and black bandanna was tied across his forehead keeping his bangs out of his eyes. He had a cold looking frown on his face as the zippers on his leather jacket jingled as he reached out and snagged one of the students who walked a little too close to him. He lifted the boy off the ground casually and pulled him closer. "Where, is Furinkan High?"  
  
"Yer joking right?" said the boy as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder.   
  
"We have arrived sir." A gigantic cloaked figure appeared beside the rider.   
  
The biker ignored this and glared at the boy again as he set him down. "Where is Saotome?"  
  
The boy suddenly seemed very interested in what was going on. A few other students had halted their walk home as they turned to watch the scene and wait to see what was happening. The appearance of the large Liquid Unit and someone asking for Saotome lead some of them to a very reasonable conclusion.   
  
Ranma walked out of the gates with Nabiki just behind him. Both of them paused and looked at the newcomer. "Hey. Nice bike."  
  
"Yeah. I know. Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!"  
  
Ranko appeared next to Nabiki as Ryoga launched himself into the air off of his bike and dove headfirst towards Ranma with an umbrella in his hand. "Hey. What's Ryoga doing here?"  
  
"Ah. Hello Miss Ranko." The redhead turned her head up to see the large cloaked figure standing behind her.   
  
"Hey. How ya been? I ain't seen ya for a while!"  
  
Nabiki stepped in quickly. "Who is Ryoga?"  
  
"The guy trying to brain your Fiancée with that umbrella." The redhead didn't seem very worried. "This is Kira. He's Ryoga's Liquid Unit."  
  
The fight had entered the school grounds. Ranma was staying out of reach of the other boy's powerful strikes with relative ease, but had yet to find a real opening for attack. They bounced across the grass lashing out at each other and doing nothing more than making more work for the landscaping unit later on.   
  
"So, you two aren't going to have a match?" asked one of the nearby students.  
  
"They tend to leave us out of it." The larger Unit shrugged and turned to watch the fight. "He's been training quite hard lately. I've been helping him out a bit."  
  
"What sort of Unit are you anyway?" Nabiki was trying to peer under his hood and he backed away from her gaze.   
  
"I was built for construction, but I am primarily used as a guide."  
  
Ranko put her hand up to her mouth and whispered into Nabiki's ear. "He had trouble with directions."  
  
"I do what I can to help of course, but it is mostly a lost cause." The larger Unit sighed and hung his head. "In any case, they shouldn't be at it much loner."  
  
"Hmm. Good long fight this time, Ryoga must be pretty upset."  
  
"I suppose. I really don't understand what he's so upset about."   
  
"What's with the new look?" Ranko leaned against the wall as Ryoga began to toss bandannas into the air at his bouncing target. Ranma neatly avoided them all and managed to land on Ryoga's head before bouncing off behind him to more open ground.   
  
"The master wishes me to hide my shame."  
  
"What shame?" Ranko was confused.  
  
"I'm not sure. He seems quite upset about it though."  
  
"This isn't about Jusenkyo is it? I thought you caught him."  
  
"Yes, and I did. Took us almost three days to find our way out of that place. I'm still not sure what he's so upset about. I like to think of it as an improvement really. I am much more versatile now. I'm glad we ran into that guide before it was too late. I had a terrible time keeping him away from those springs."  
  
"Well, I've got no clue what you mean, but okay." Ranko shrugged and looked at Nabiki. She had a large pile of money and a few dozen tickets clenched in her grip. "This is Ranma's new fiancée. I don't think she's interested in much beside the fight right now."  
  
"Quite all right."  
  
"Ranma is right, this is a nice bike. Where'd you get the money for this?" The redhead kicked the tires as her master managed to kick Ryoga in the face after leading him up the side of the tree in the courtyard. They landed with Ryoga's face being plowed into the ground.   
  
The larger Unit walked over beside her and looked it over. "We've been doing very well since we returned from China. I have won many more fights since the last time we met."   
  
Ranma looked over at the both of them and cursed as he hopped back and waited for Ryoga to get up. It took a few seconds, but he staggered to his feet slowly.  
  
"Hey, good for you then." Ranko punched him on the arm slightly and stepped back when she realized it didn't quite feel right under the cloak. "What the heck happened to you anyway?"  
  
Ranma managed to land a vicious looking right hook and Ryoga finally went down.  
  
The larger Unit vanished and Nabiki smiled as she calculated her earnings and handed out the winnings.   
  
"Oh well. He'll be around for a while I bet. Might be a week or two before we see him again though."  
  
Nabiki turned her head to look back at the redhead again. "Really?" She was holding a good-sized wad of cash now.   
  
"That jerk!" Ranma dusted off his shirt and walked over to them. "What the heck is he thinkin followin me here?"  
  
"I hate you Ranma?" guessed Ranko.  
  
"Shut up will ya?" The boy shoved his hands into his pockets and started to walk towards the dojo. "What the heck is his problem anyway?"  
  
"Maybe you should ask him?"  
  
"I did. All he said was some crap about 'seein hell' or somethin. Stupid jerk."  
  
It was evening at the Tendo home as Ranko sat beside her master with a cheerful smirk on her face. She was sitting beside him on the porch. "Figure it out yet?"  
  
"Shut up," grumbled the boy. He had his chin in his hand and a deep frown on his face. His brow was furrowed in thought.   
  
"Is he still thinking about that?" Akane strolled by and noticed them both.   
  
"Really hard!" chimed Ranko cheerfully.  
  
"Shut up," grumbled the boy as his shoulders sank a bit more. "Can't still be that meat bread thing...can it?"  
  
"I dunno. I think he's had enough time to get over that by now." Ranko shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he really holds grudges?"  
  
"I figured he got over it when he never showed up."  
  
"You did push him off that cliff at Jusenkyo."  
  
"Huh? Oh yeah! That must be it!" The boy slapped his fist into his palm.  
  
"What?!" cried Akane as she dropped the bottled water in her hand to the ground. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. "You dropped this guy of a cliff?"  
  
"Think he got cursed?" asked Ranma as he looked at the redhead and seemed to not notice Akane.   
  
"No. Kira says he made it out all right. He managed to catch him too and divert his fall away from the water."  
  
"He wasn't even hurt then? I guess that isn't it after all." Ranma went back into deep ponder mode.   
  
"You are unbelievable!" screamed Akane as she belted him over the back of the head with an umbrella from a nearby stand. "You threw this guy off a cliff and you're wondering why he's angry?"  
  
"She has a point ya know."  
  
"That can't be it. I've thrown myself off higher cliffs than that just training. Ain't like he could have been really hurt or anything." Ranma looked irritated with Akane as he managed to pick himself up from the grass after a moment's rest.  
  
"Get away from me!" snapped Akane as she slapped at Ranko as she knelt down beside the two of them. The girl's eyes went wide at what happened next.   
  
"Ouch! What the hell did you do that for?" snapped the redhead as she rubbed her cheek in irritation.   
  
"What? That's not funny! Ranma!"  
  
"What? Leave me out of this!" snapped the boy as he glanced up at them.   
  
"Meanie!" The redhead stuck her tongue out at the girl.   
  
The shorthaired girl moved to strike her again. Her hand passed right through her face, but she still reacted as if she'd been struck.   
  
"That hurts! Cut it out!" The redhead's hand reared back just as Kasumi and Nabiki came around the corner.   
  
"Ranma...a letter...came..." Kasumi's voice trailed off at the scene.   
  
Nabiki's bag of chips hit the floor as a fleshy smack filled the room.   
  
Akane's face was turned aside and she jerked back away from the thing with horrified eyes.  
  
"Holy shit!" Ranko was staring at her hand in disbelief.  
  
"What's with you? Ain't like you to hit someone." Ranma was on his feet and glaring at the redhead.  
  
The unit turned her eyes towards him, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Y...yer kidding?"  
  
"Akane? Are you all right?" cried Kasumi as she rushed up to her sister's side.   
  
The girl was looking at the redhead in absolute disbelief. She had managed to stagger to her back and had her head lifted up. There was a small red mark on her cheek, but she didn't look hurt otherwise. "She slapped me!"  
  
"You deserved it. She said it hurt." The pigtailed boy shrugged it off and appeared to loose interest.   
  
"It did?" asked the redhead dumbly. She put her hand up to her cheek and simply stared into the floor.   
  
The redhead vanished from sight and Ranma hung his head. "Jeez. Now what? Girls are so weird."  
  
Nabiki Tendo could take no more and fell to the floor in a dead faint.  
  
"Oh my!" gasped Kasumi as she rushed to her younger sister's side. "Are you all right, Nabiki?"  
  
"Well. That was exciting. I'm gonna crash now, before anyone else passes out or somethin." The pigtailed boy calmly left the scene and went up to his room.  
  
Akane was just sitting on the ground staring into the floor at this point. She didn't know a lot about Liquid Units, but she knew what had just happened to her was impossible. "She slapped me?" It was frightening, and she could feel herself trembling. "He made it hit me!"  
  
Nabiki was sitting up on her own by the time she said it. Kasumi was still holding her up though. The look on her face was serious and the younger girl could see a little fear in her eyes. Her lips actually turned up into a smile as she pushed off of Kasumi and stood to her feet. "No. I don't think he did. In fact, I'm sure it wasn't him."  
  
"Really? Who was it then?" Akane looked at her sister angrily.   
  
"I intend to find out."  
  
Ryo smirked as he tossed his cigarette away and faced the small plane that had just landed in the airfield. He chuckled to himself as the plane slowed to a stop just in front of him.   
  
The door opened and a small flight of stairs folded down. The first person to emerge was a Chinese boy of about sixteen years. He had long black hair and white silk robes. A white duck rested on his shoulder and ruffled its feathers as it noticed Ryo standing nearby. A young Chinese girl with long purple hair stepped out next. She was wearing a rather simple looking silk dress that clung tightly to her figure.   
  
"Hey."  
  
"Iruga." The boy adjusted his thick glasses as he stared down the baggage cart coolly.  
  
"Over here you dope," grumbled the Japanese man. "Jeez."  
  
"Mousse still stupid as ever," said the girl as she eyed Ryo carefully.   
  
"Hey. I thought you weren't bringing her." Ryo glared at Mousse and lit a cigarette. The girl backed away from him with a sour frown on her face.   
  
"Still jerk."  
  
"Now Shampoo, do be polite." A withered old crone hopped off the plane last. "Hello boy."  
  
"Great. The whole entourage."  
  
"So it would seem. Tell me why we have come here?" The old woman had a small glare in her eyes as she looked him over.   
  
"How the hell would I know why you're here? I called him." Ryo sighed. "You need to see this guy all right?" He ignored the two women and turned towards the male.   
  
"Another one?"  
  
"I'm sure of it, but I don't think either one of them has realized it yet."  
  
"What are you speaking of?" Cologne seemed interested in the conversation.  
  
"Another prodigy." Mousse turned towards the wheel of the airplane. He had serious conviction clear in his magnified eyes.  
  
"We have come all this way so you can see some competition?" Cologne didn't sound very pleased.   
  
"Shampoo rather stay home."  
  
"The plane is still there. You two really don't have to hang around for this." Their eager host almost looked hopeful.  
  
"Not just competition. Serious competition." Mousse turned towards the terminal and started walking.   
  
Cologne narrowed her eyes as the duck's head turned back to glance at her for a moment. "Mousse sees more than he lets on child. For a long time, I have sensed he is hiding something from us. I feel that this may shed some light on that subject. We will remain here."  
  
"Stupid boy better keep dog woman away. Shampoo not like her."  
  
"Don't be foolish child, she's just a program in a computer. The one you dislike so much is that boy.""  
  
"Yes. Boy too. Shampoo hate Japan."  
  
"Perhaps this trip will do you some good?" The old woman didn't sound very hopeful.  
  
Shampoo noticed Mousse was standing next to the terminal entrance patiently. He was carrying on a conversation with a small sign that was being used as a doorstop. The bird on his shoulder was watching her again. It seemed like it was always looking at her. It was kind of creepy really, but she felt silly about complaining. It was a stupid duck after all. She'd pounded him more than once because of it, but never told him why. He didn't seem to mind much.  
  
"I guess we can stay at my place. It's too late to just show up at his house." Ryo hung his head as they all strolled into the terminal.   
  
Ryoga Hibiki sat on his bike looking down a long endless road that ended in only darkness. He wasn't moving and had pulled over next to the only visible billboard. The night sky overhead was cloudy and calm. He simply sat on his bike looking off into the distance with two walnuts scraping together in his hands.   
  
"Ranma, when next we meet..."  
  
"Sir. Dinner is ready. I do hope you find the time to find a better meal than Ramen next week when we find civilization again." The large cloaked Unit moved up beside its master with a steaming cup of noodles and a pair of chopsticks held out.   
  
"Damn it. I was being dramatic again."  
  
"If you'd just let me know before, I wouldn't interrupt."  
  
"It's not something I can predict. Let me try again..." The boy closed his eyes and frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
He opened his eyes and grinned. "Ranma Saotome, I shall defeat you! Don't worry Kira! I shall avenge your honor!"  
  
"What honor? Honestly Master, I really do not mind at all."  
  
"..." Ryoga seemed to simply ignore him.   
  
"Are you finished being dramatic now sir? Your 'Cup O'Noodles' is getting cold."  
  
Ryoga just sighed. "I guess so."  
  
TBC...  
  
Next time: Ranma meets Mousse. 


End file.
